Updated April 19th, 2021 at 10:24 IST

Amid COVID-19 spike, Hong Kong suspends flights connecting to India till May 3

As India is facing surging cases of COVID-19, Hong Kong on Sunday suspended all flights connecting to India till May 3. Earlier it had disconnected from Mumbai.

Reported by: Bhavyata Kagrana
Credits: UNSPLASH/REPRESENTATIVEIMAGE | Image:self
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As India is facing a very critical condition of COVID-19 pandemic with rising number of cases every day, Hong Kong on Sunday suspended all the flights connecting to India. Sources from the aviation industry said that the suspension will be in force till May 3. India is witnessing a second and dangerous wave of COVID-19. 

With India, Hong Kong has also suspended flights from Pakistan, Philippines for the same time. This step was taken after 50 passengers from two Vistara flights tested positive on arrival this month. Earlier on Sunday, the Hong Kong government had suspended all Vistara flights on Mumbai-Hong Kong route till May 2. 

The new rules mention that in order to travel to Hong Kong patients will have to show a negative RTPCR report taken 72 hours prior to the journey.  On Sunday, three passengers from Vistara's Mumbai-Hong Kong flight tested positive on arrival test. Additionally, a total of 47 passengers from Vistara's Delhi-Hong Kong flight have tested positive for COVID-19 till Sunday, as per ANI. 

Earlier in October-November, Hong Kong had banned flights connecting to India when cases were on a rise. The same was reported during August-September 2020 as well. Vistara has not responded on that matter till now. 

India COVID-19 cases

There are more than 18-lakh active cases currently in the country, as of Sunday. India also reported the highest single-day spike in the number of deaths with 1,625 fatalities taking the toll to 178,793. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, and several other states are reporting a sharp rise in cases. In the last 12 days, India has witnessed a double positivity rate which is now 16.7%. In terms of positivity rate, Chhattisgarh is on the top with a 30% rate followed by Goa which is at 24%, Maharashtra has 24% and Rajasthan has 23% of positivity rate as mentioned by the Health Ministry. It is been claimed that the current surge is due to the double-mutation variant cases. Delhi has also reported 30% positivity rate.

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Published April 19th, 2021 at 10:24 IST