India has announced that all visas, barring a select few categories, will be suspended for a month in order to halt the spread of Covid-19.
Visa free travel afforded to overseas citizens of the country has also been suspended until 15 April. India has 73 confirmed cases of the virus, according to the country’s health ministry.
The announcement was issued on Wednesday night, and only exclude diplomatic, official, employment and project visas from the restrictions, which take effect on March 13, and will be reviewed again in a month.
However, it has said that even those allowed in could be subject to 14 days of quarantine and has warned against "non-essential travel".
Indian domestic airline, IndiGo, has already said that it expects its quarterly earnings to be materially impacted because of the virus, while the country’s automotive industry, which is a, has also warned that production could be badly hit as 10% of its supply chain originates in China. Moody's already downgraded India's expected growth to 5.3%.