After the Indian government imposed strict rules to contain the spread of Coronavirus, about 3,500 UAE nationals have left India. Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kochi, and Hyderabad, witness a large number of passengers from the Gulf and UAE nationals left India fearing complete disruption of aviation services. Furthermore, India witness peak inbound tourism during February and March due to spring breaks and festivals.
What’s In It?
About 3,500 UAE nationals have left India fearing complete disruption. The Indian government also banned passengers from Europe, Turkey, the UK, and many other countries. Furthermore, it has also suspended visas it had granted earlier to tourists as well as stopped visa on arrival facilities. This also means,. UAE passport-holders will temporarily not be entitled to visa on arrival in India.
Most of the airlines operating to India have been stopped, except Gulf airlines- which has also reduced frequency. About 10 Emirati students studying in Indian universities also left for the UAE. However, those undergoing treatment continue to stay in India. Besides, famous tourist spots like Taj Mahal in Agra, museums, and pilgrim centres across the country are shut down to prevent crowding.
What Else?
Researchers have recently come up with a mathematical model in order to gauge the global spread of Coronavirus. Based on that, it has been revealed that India ranks at no. 17 and is at a risk importing the virus.
Researchers believe that one of the key reasons for the spread of Coronavirus is ‘air travel’. ‘The busier the route, there is a higher possibility of an infected passenger travelling by this route.’ Connecting flights, travel routes and popular destinations have been taken into consideration by researchers to estimate the global spread.
This prediction model has been developed by researchers from Humboldt University and Robert Koch Institute in Germany.
Statistics Until Now
The global spread of Coronavirus originated in China’s Wuhan area in December 2019. It is the seventh largest city in China and has a population of 11 million people. It was expected to be a major hub for connecting flights, both international and domestic. But due to the outbreak, it was quarantined on January 23, 2020. Unfortunately, by then, the virus had already made its way out to other countries.
Also read: All Coronavirus Cases In The UAE Will Be Treated FREE Of Cost
According to the mathematical model, ‘the top 10 countries at risk of importing Coronavirus cases are: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia.’ To give some perspective, while ‘Thailand is at a national import risk of 2.1 per cent, India is at 0.2 per cent.’ However, the fact that there is even the slightest possibility to spread in the country, every one needs to be cautious.
It has been reported by various news agencies that, ‘around 20 countries have confirmed cases of Coronavirus, and China accounts for about 99 per cent of the infected ones.’