YEREVAN, MARCH 24, ARMENPRESS. In recent weeks immigration offices of Bali are full of foreign nationals requesting to extend their visas as home countries closed their borders due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Indonesia’s Law and Human Rights Ministry said.

1,830 foreign nationals have applied to the authorities for a so-called emergency stay permit in Bali since February. 80% of the foreigners are Chinese citizens, and the rest are from UK, Italy, US, Germany and other countries.

Number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Indonesia is 579, with 49 death cases.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global pandemic and named the virus COVID-19. 

According to the World Health Organization, coronavirus cases have been confirmed in more than 195 countries and territories.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan