India suspending all tourist visas amid coronavirus pandemic

India is temporarily suspending all tourist visas amid the global coronavirus outbreak effective Friday. 

“All existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organizations, employment, project visas, stand suspended till 15th April 2020,” the India’s health ministry tweeted Wednesday.

#CoronaVirusUpdate:

Important decisions taken at the 2nd meeting of GoM on #COVID19 today.#SwasthaBharat @PMOIndia @drharshvardhan @AshwiniKChoubey @PIB_India @MIB_India @DG_PIB @MoCA_GoI @MEAIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @shipmin_india @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 11, 2020

The health ministry also advised Indian citizens to avoid nonessential travel and informed them they’re potentially subject to a 14-day quarantine upon arrival. 

India currently has 60 confirmed cases of the virus and one death — nearly 20 times less than the U.S., according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Earlier on Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, with one of the organization’s leaders citing the severity and speed at which the virus is spreading.