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| Bangladesh's National Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19 urges the government to take strict measures. (Photo by= Al-emrum Garjon/AP/Picture Alliance) |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] Sri Lanka on Thursday (May 6) became the latest of India's neighbors to seal its borders with the South Asian giant while it faces a record COVID-19 surge. AFP reported that Bangladesh and Nepal also banned flights and sought to close their borders with India, where a huge rise in numbers in the past three weeks has taken deaths past 230,000 and cases over 21 million.
All three countries are fighting their own pandemic surges, which Red Cross leaders have described as a "human catastrophe". The Sri Lankan government banned flight passengers from entering India and recorded its highest daily toll of 14 deaths and 1,939 infections in 24 hours. Bangladesh halted all international flights on Apr 14 because of its own surge and shut its border with India on Apr 26. It recorded 11,755 COVID-19 deaths and 767,338 cases, however, experts say the real figures are higher in all South Asian countries.
Nepal also suspended international flights a week ago, until May 14. Just two return flights a week are allowed to India, to bring back stranded nationals. Most border crossings are also closed and only returning Nepalis can use those still open. Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan are all experiencing record COVID-19 death rates, it added. Even Maldives tightened restrictions for Indian visitors, insisting on negative test results on entry.
