Coronavirus: India hasn't imposed any travel restrictions to UAE

The Indian consulate in the UAE has denied reports that India has imposed travel restrictions to the emirates.

"There is no specific advisory against travel to the UAE due to coronavirus. However, many events have been postponed and schools have been shut for four weeks starting March 8," tweeted the consulate, rubbishing reports published by a certain Indian television channel.

There is no specific advisory against travel to UAE due to coronavirus. However, many events have been postponed & schools have been shut for 4 weeks starting March 8. We would suggest you should keep an eye on advisories issued by both India & UAE.

- India in Dubai (@cgidubai) March 4, 2020

The consulate has asked Indian expats in the UAE to keep an eye on official advisories issued by both India and UAE.

As part of the measures to contain the spread of the virus, India has issued a travel ban on countries like China, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan.

Confirmed new Coronavirus Covid-19 cases are rising in India with 16 of the 21 Italian tourists quarantined in New Delhi testing positive, taking the total number of infected cases to 28. Out of the 16 patients tested positive in New Delhi, 15 are Italians, and one is an Indian national.

In UAE, where the schools and higher education institutes will shut for four weeks starting Sunday, the Indian missions have confirmed that the board exams for CBSE will happen as per the schedule. But stringent safety and hygiene protocols will also be adopted by the schools to ensure the safety of students attempting the exams.

The Indian High School, a centre for the exams, said the exams will go ahead as scheduled. "Unless and until the board advises otherwise, we will be organizing the exams for students," said an Indian High School official.

Anjana Sankar

Anjana Sankar is a UAE-based journalist chasing global stories of conflict, migration and human rights. She has reported from the frontlines of the wars in Yemen and Syria and has extensively written on the refugee crisis in Bangladesh, Iraq and Europe. From interviewing Daesh militants to embedding with the UAE army in Yemen, and covering earthquakes, floods, terrorist attacks and elections, she has come out scathe-free from the most dangerous conflict zones of the world. Riding on over 14 years of experience, Anjana currently is an Assistant Editor with Khaleej Times and leads the reporting team. She often speaks about women empowerment on her Facebook page that has 40,000 plus followers.