The last 177 Myanmar pilgrims from Bodh Gaya have returned to Myanmar on March 21 and no COVID-19 suspect was found amongst them, said Maung Maung Myint, Chair of Bodh Gaya Pilgrimage Committee.
“We made the evacuation of the last 177 Myanmar pilgrims from Bodh Gaya using MAI chartered flight a day earlier as the Indian government announced on March 19 that they had suspended the domestic and international flights for a week starting from March 22. However no COVID-19 suspect is found in all 2,548 Myanmar pilgrims evacuated from Bodh Gaya,” he said.
Myanmar is planned to evacuate over 1,000 pilgrims from Gaya as India announced on March 11 that it barred the entry of tourists to India starting from March 13 to April 15 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus.
The Bodh Gaya Pilgrimage Committee under the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced an emergency statement dated March 12 after the Indian government announced they have banned tourists holding passports and visas to India.
The announcement said the Indian embassy in Yangon and Indian Consulate in Mandalay confirmed the ban of entry to India. It notified pilgrims not to enter through Sonauli, a border gate between India and Nepal, to Nepal and the pilgrims already arrived in Nepal need to enter India by March 12.
