WASHINGTON: Cross borders movements have come to a standstill in much of the world as countries close their borders to visitors — and sometimes their own citizens — in response to the coronavirus outbreak, says a new stud released on Tuesday.

The Pew Research Center, Washington, which conducted the study, reports that currently 7.1 billion people live in countries with restrictions on people arriving from other countries who are neither citizens nor residents.

This is 91 per cent of the world’s population — including tourists, business travelers and new immigrants — who have been forced to stay at home.

Roughly 3 billion people, or 39 per cent, live in countries with borders completely closed to noncitizens and nonresidents, says the study based on data provided by the United Nations and other agencies.

These travel and entry restrictions have forced airlines to slash routes and tourism has plummeted.

China, home to more than 1.4 billion people, closed its borders to foreigners other than some diplomatic and scientific personnel starting March 28.

India, with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, has largely closed its borders by suspending visas and requiring a two-week quarantine for all arrivals regardless of citizenship.

The United States, where roughly 330 million live, has closed its borders to people who are neither citizens nor residents of the US and arrive from countries hard hit by the disease, such as China, Italy, France, Spain, the UK and Ireland.

In Japan, where this summer’s Tokyo Olympics have been postponed until the summer of 2021, travelers may not enter the country if they have traveled to countries with widespread coronavirus outbreaks. All arrivals, including Japanese citizens, must self-quarantine for 14 days if they have visited countries affected by the outbreak.

A smaller number of countries, including Ecuador and several Central Asian countries, have closed their borders to all people, including their own citizens and residents.

Some nations are also banning entry by asylum seekers. The US has said it will turn away potential asylum seekers at its southern border with Mexico. Canada has said it will not hear asylum claims from those who enter by land from the US. In Europe, many asylum hearings and services have been suspended.

The study warns that the world’s 272 million international migrants may have difficulty returning to their home countries in the near future due to increasing travel restrictions and fewer commercial airline flights.

About 37 per cent of them are from countries that have implemented near-complete border closures to noncitizens and nonresidents. Another 54 percent of the world’s migrants are from countries that have seen at least a partial border closure to travelers.

But the study also notes that, countries are trying to keep borders open to the flow of goods.

Commercial trade across the US-Canada border, for example, is continuing. The same is true within European Union countries, though wait times for commercial movement between EU countries has increased substantially.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2020