COVID-19 in Northeast: Govt Seals most International Borders amid Mounting Death Toll

Guwahati, March 15, 2020:

The central government has suspended movement of all types of passengers through the international borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal barring the ones in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura in Northeast with effect from today due to the threat posed by coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that passenger movements would be suspended from midnight tonight through the Indo-Bangladesh, Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar international borders, barring a few specified border checkposts through Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura in the Northeast region and Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

In a bid to curb the spread of novel coronavirus, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification informing about the decision of closing down international borders. “All types of passenger movements through all the Immigration Land Check Posts located at Indo-Bangladesh Border, Indo-Nepal Border, Indo-Bhutan Border and Indo-Myanmar Border will be suspended with effect from 00:00 Hrs March 15, 2020 till further orders except the below mentioned posts…”

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The land Integrated Check Posts (ICP) along the Indo-Bangladesh borders at Mankachar in Dhubri, Sutarkandi and Darranga in Assam will be operational.

In Meghalaya, the land ICPs that will remain functional are Dalu and Dawki. The Kawrpuichhuah and Zokhawthar land ICPs with Bangladesh and Myanmar respectively will remain operational in Mizoram. The Indo-Bangladesh border checkpost at Agartala in Tripura has also been kept open.

The Home Ministry has additionally said that the extent of visa restrictions on international citizens as amended from time to time shall be applied on all these Land Immigration Check Posts barring Nepalese and Bhutanese nationals.

However, “participation of foreigners in the border haats shall remain suspended with immediate effect until further orders.” The notification additionally suspended all bus services from March 15 to April 15 until further orders.

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“There will be intensified health inspections at all these entry points and any traveler whether Indian or Nepalese or Bhutanese or from any other country showing COVID-19 symptoms or with a recent travel history to one of seven COVID-19 outbreak countries namely Italy, Iran, China, Spain, France, Germany and Republic of Korea shall be subjected to quarantine in the appropriate facility of State or Central Government,” stated the notification.

The novel virus has claimed as many as 5,839 deaths worldwide, and 74,970 people are currently affected. 5,652 (8%) are said to be in serious/critical condition. Total cases currently is 156,745. Recovered cases stand at 75,936.

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In India, 100 people are infected with coronavirus till the filing of this report. Two deaths have also been reported – a 76-year-old from Karnataka and a 68-year-old from Delhi. Recovered cases stand at 10.

Countries like Italy and Spain have taken extreme precautions of locking down the entire country to contain the spread of the virus. While Italy had imposed a complete lockdown, Spain on Saturday evening declared 'emergency' urging its people to stay home until two weeks.

The US has also declared national emergency. All the major sports activities have been postponed across the globe. In India, Indian Premier League has been postponed with a view to put 'safety first' over the rest. Mass gatherings, shopping malls, gyms, etc. have also been ordered to remain shut in many States of India.

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