Joe Biden imposes travel ban on India amid surge in coronavirus cases

Washington : Amid rising number of coronavirus cases, Joe Biden has announced travel restrictions on travelers coming from India.

"On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the administration will restrict travel from India," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

She claimed extraordinarily rise in the number of coronavirus cases and multiple mutants of the virus circulating in the nation as the reasons behind the ban.

The new travel policy will come to effect from Tuesday (May 4).

Biden in January issued a similar ban on most non-U.S. citizens entering the country who have recently been in South Africa. He also reimposed an entry ban on nearly all non-U.S. travelers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders.

According to the policy, any traveler who has been in any of these nation, now India, will not be allowed to travel to the United States.

Meanwhile, India has become the first nation in the world to report over 4 lakh new coronavirus cases in a day.

Some of the medical experts have claimed that the real number could be 3 to 4 times higher than the official data.

Other countries have imposed similar travel restrictions on India, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Singapore, while Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand have suspended all commercial travel with India.