The Netherlands has said it is suspending all passenger flights arriving from India starting Monday amid a surge in coronavirus infections in the country. The flight ban was announced on Sunday night after the Cabinet received new advice from public health agency RIVM, NL Times reported citing Infrastructure Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen in a letter to Parliament. Similarly, Thailand has suspended issuing travel documents from India over concerns of imported coronavirus cases, as more venues were closed in Bangkok on Monday as part of efforts to contain a third wave of infections in the Southeast Asian nation.
“A flight ban will take effect for passenger flights from India at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 26… The flight ban will be in place until at least 00:01 a.m. on May 1," Sputnik quoted Dutch Aviation Ministry’s statement.
“The epidemiological situation on the ground is very serious," she wrote. The minister noted that there are several variants of the coronavirus there, and there are many uncertainties about their “infectivity, pathogenic capability, and possible reduced protection of antibodies after vaccination or a previous infection". The flight ban is set to expire on May 1, unless the Cabinet decides to extend it during meetings next week. Cargo flights and flights with medical personnel will be exempted from the ban.
India on Monday set a global record for coronavirus cases for a fifth straight day with 352,991 new infections, as its caseload crossed 17 million and with hospitals running out of oxygen, beds and anti-viral drugs. The Thai embassy in New Delhi said in a statement that certificates of entry for non-Thai nationals travelling from India will be suspended until further notice.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) denied reports that private jets carrying wealthy people from India were flying into Thailand.
“We confirm that no chartered flights from Indian millionaires have sought permission from the CAAT to come to Thailand," it said in a statement on the weekend.
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There would be four repatriation flights from India to Thailand in May, CAAT said. Thailand is dealing with its own outbreak and reported 2,048 new cases on Monday, bringing its total infections to 57,508 and 148 coronavirus-related fatalities.
Of the cases reported on Monday, 901 were in Bangkok, which has been the epicentre of the outbreak. Parks, gyms, cinemas and day-care centres in Bangkok were ordered to shut starting on Monday until May 9.
A 20,000 baht ($635) fine was also introduced for not wearing masks in public with new measures being considered to rein in the outbreak.
(with input from Reuters and ANI)
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