The Indian government has suspended all visas till April 15 due to a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the last two weeks. According to the latest data available, sixty-seven people in the country have tested positive for the virus, which has spread over 100 countries, killed over 4,5000, and a major chunk of them are tourists from Italy.
The second meeting of the Group of Ministers on Wednesday cancelled all visas, except for a few official categories, in the wake of the growing coronavirus.
The visa advisory from the Indian government has made it almost impossible for foreign players to join their respective teams in time as the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off on March 29. The foreign players have to remain out of India until April 15 and they can join in time only if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gets special permission.
It is to note that the foreign players are booked on business visas and in such a scenario the fresh advisory sent out by the government on Wednesday says that they won’t be allowed entry till April 15.
However, the BCCI is yet to announce its call on the issue and the Indian Premier League governing council, meanwhile, will meet on March 14 to come to terms.
Notably, the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday was declared a “pandemic” by the World Health Organisation (WHO), whose chief expressed his “deep concern” over the “alarming levels of inaction” in combating the virus spread.