Indonesia will stop issuing visas for foreigners who have been in India in the past 14 days to prevent the spread of different coronavirus strains, a government minister said on Friday.
India is facing a health crisis, including the impact of a "double mutant" strain of Covid-19, with the country posting the world's highest single-day increase in cases on Friday for a second day, surpassing 330,000 infections.
"Based on these observations, the government has decided to stop issuing visas for foreigners who have lived or visited India in the past 14 days," chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Friday.
The curbs follow the arrival in Indonesia of a chartered flight from Chennai carrying 129 people, 12 of which had tested positive for Covid-19. Samples had been taken for genomic sequencing, said health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin.
"Lots of people still enter Indonesia," he said. "We must be careful of those entering from South Asian countries."
Indonesians arriving from India will be allowed to enter, however, but must follow stricter health protocols and quarantine.
Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, has among the worst Covid-19 epidemics in Asia, with over 1.62mn cases and 44,000 deaths as of Thursday.
On Thursday, Singapore's health ministry said it would not allow entry to long-term visa holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to India, which is battling a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
Singapore said it was investigating Covid-19 cases in a migrant workers' dormitory for the possibility of re-infection and is quarantining more than 1,100 of the facility's residents. So far, 17 recovered workers were found to be positive for Covid-19 at the dormitory.
The government said travel restrictions with India will help curb potential cases in the dormitories because many of the labourers arrive from the South Asian nation.
Indonesia and Singapore join the growing list of nations to impose restrictions on travel from India in view of the Covid-19 surge there.