Australia bans passenger flights from India amid surge in Covid infections

Australia has joined the league of nations that have banned passenger flights to India amid the recent surge in coronavirus cases in the country, news agency AFP reported. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the suspension would remain in place until at least May 15 due to "clearly present" risks of travel from India, leaving thousands of Australians -- including high-profile cricketers -- stranded.

This ban will be effective till May 15. Although it is a temporary measure, it will affect the aviation industry as many countries in the recent past have banned passenger flights to India. Australia adds to the list of growing countries that have suspended flights from India. The UK, UAE, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, UAE and Pakistan have announced similar measures limiting the number of countries Indians can travel to during the pandemic.

Many countries have said that the positivity rate among Indian passengers is high compared to other countries. Last week, Canada's health minister said that 1.8% of all travellers to Canada have tested positive for Covid-19. While passengers from India account for 20% of all these cases.

Worth mentioning here is that Monday was the sixth day in a row when the country's Covid count for the past 24 hours exceeded 3 lakh (3.2 lakh on Monday) and deaths crossed the 2,000 mark for the seventh consecutive day despite lower testings on Sunday. At present, 28.82 lakh active Covid-19 cases are there in the country. However, health experts believe the actual tally of active and death cases in India will be significantly higher than what is reported.