Coronavirus: Manipur Closes Border With Myanmar To Curb Deadly Transmission

Amid coronavirus scare, the government of Manipur on Monday decided to close the international border with Myanmar which also includes gate no 1 and 2 in Moreh. “In view of possible threat of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), Government of Manipur hereby prohibits movement of people across the international border and accordingly orders closures of Gate No. 1 and Gate No. 2, Moreh and other crossing points along Manipur sector of Indo-Myanmar border until further orders”, the government order states.

Manipur CM N. Biren Singh: In view of the possible threat of transmission of #Coronavirus / COVID-19, the international border with Myanmar has been closed including gate no 1 and 2 in Moreh until further orders. pic.twitter.com/KTNm69mTyp

— ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2020

Earlier, in a similar measure against coronavirus outbreak, Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday decided to suspend issuing Protected Area Permits (PAPs) to foreigners. Foreigners require PAPs in order to travel to Arunachal Pradesh, which shares border with China. Sikkim had also announced similar steps in order to curb the footfalls of foreigners in the state.

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The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan too decided to shut its borders for a time period of two weeks to limit the impact of coronavirus.

According to AFP figures, China reported 17 new deaths on Tuesday taking the toll to 4,011. The coronavirus outbreak has spread to over 100 countries with more than 110,000 cases of infection reported so far.

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The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has gone up to 45 in India with the latest coming from Punjab.

Moreover, the Indian government on Monday sent the C-17 Globemaster military aircraft to Iran to evacuate the Indians stranded in the coronavirus-hit nation. The military aircraft departed from the Hindon airbase around 8 pm. Around 2,000 Indians live in Iran, a country that has witnessed increasing numbers of coronavirus cases in the last few days.

(With inputs from Agencies)