Following the record rise in coronavirus cases in India, Thailand has suspended issuing travel documents from India over imported COVID-19 cases.
India on Monday set a global record for coronavirus cases for a fifth straight day with 352,991 new infections, as its caseload crossed 17 million and with hospitals running out of oxygen, beds and anti-viral drugs.
The Thai embassy in New Delhi said in a statement that certificates of entry for non-Thai nationals travelling from India will be suspended until further notice.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) denied reports that private jets carrying wealthy people from India were flying into Thailand.
“We confirm that no chartered flights from Indian millionaires have sought permission from the CAAT to come to Thailand,” it said in a statement on the weekend.
There would be four repatriation flights from India to Thailand in May, CAAT said.
Thailand is dealing with its own outbreak and reported 2,048 new cases on Monday, bringing its total infections to 57,508 and 148 coronavirus-related fatalities.
Of the cases reported on Monday, 901 were in Bangkok, which has been the epicentre of the outbreak.
Earlier Canadian government put a travel ban on India and Pakistan seeing the rising coronavirus cases in the two countries.
Addressing a virtual press conference, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that due to the increasing number of travelers from India and Pakistan arriving in Canada with COVID-19, all commercial and private passenger flights from those countries will be barred as of 11:30 p.m. Thursday night.