Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, November 28
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to suspend international flights from countries in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases.
Kejriwal’s letter to Modi comes days after the central government decided to resume international air travel. International flights, which were banned till now, will fully resume on December 14. Flights to 14 ‘at risk’ countries will remain restricted.
The aviation ministry said the existing ‘air bubble’ agreement for these countries will continue, limiting flights and airlines to 75 per cent of pre-Covid operations (or a minimum of seven frequencies per week).
The fourteen “at risk” countries are the United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Brazil, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and New Zealand. The list also includes South Africa, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong – the four countries that confirmed the new B.1.1.1.529 version of the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization recently called the new variant, which is believed to be the most transmissible mutation of the virus yet – more so than the delta virus that triggered the second wave of Covid-19 in April and May, mainly in India this year and Since the virus has been the most dominant strain worldwide – Omicron and classified it as a type of concern,
Since then, state governments like Karnataka and Odisha have made it mandatory for travelers coming to India from any at-risk country to undergo the RT-PCR COVID-19 detection test.
Delhi was one of the worst-hit states and union territories in the second surge of Covid-19 cases this year.