COVID-19 Restrictions: Here is the complete list of countries that have suspended all of their flight and have asked their citizens against travelling to or from India amid the massive spike in coronavirus cases.
India has been witnessing an alarming spike in daily coronavirus cases, thanks to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country on Thursday reported over 3.14 lakh coronavirus cases, the biggest single-day spike in the world, that pushed the active number of infections in the country past 22 lakh.
Looking at the massive spike in cases, several countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong, have banned all flights from India and issued advisories to their citizens against travelling to or from India.
Following is the complete list of countries that have suspended all of their flight and have asked their citizens against travelling to or from India amid the massive spike in coronavirus cases:
UAE:
The UAE Tuesday suspended all flights from India for the next ten days from Sunday. It also said that passengers who have transited through India in the last 14 days will also not be permitted to board from any other point to the UAE.
However, it said that departure flights will continue and UAE citizens, diplomatic passport holders and official delegations won't be affected by the ban.
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong on Tuesday suspended all flights from India till May 3. The country has also suspended flights to and from Pakistan and the Philippines and made it mandatory for passengers to have a COVID-negative RTPCR result with them from a test done 72 hours before the journey.
New Zealand:
Earlier this month, New Zealand had also banned the entry of travellers from India, including its own citizens, till April 28. The decision was taken after New Zealand reported 23 new COVID-19 cases of which 17 were from India.
"We are temporarily suspending entry into New Zealand for travellers from India," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement.
Singapore:
Though Singapore has not banned flights, it has asked citizens who are travelling from India to quarantine themselves for 21 days amid fears over the double mutant strain of COVID-19.
USA:
The United States of America (USA) has also issued a travel advisory for its people travelling to and from India. In its advisory, it has asked its citizens to avoid travelling to India. However, it has said that if anyone has to travel to India then he or she must get fully vaccinated.
"Because of the current situation in India even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to India. If you must travel to India, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travellers should wear a mask, stay 6 feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash their hands," said US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"If you are fully vaccinated, then do not have to get tested before leaving the United States, unless your destination requires it and you do not have to self-quarantine after you arrive in the United States," it added.
UK:
The United Kingdom (UK) has also banned traveller from India from April 23. It has also added India to the COVID-19 travel "red list", adding that its citizens arriving from the country would need to quarantine themselves at a hotel for 11 days.
Pakistan:
Pakistan had on Monday banned all travellers from India for two weeks and had placed the country in its "list of Category C" nations amid fears over the new strain of COVID-19.
"The forum decided to place India on the list of Category C countries for two weeks. There will be a ban on inbound passengers coming from India via air and land route," said Pakistan's National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in a statement.
Saudi Arabia:
According to a report by Khaleej Times, Saudi Arabia has said that its ban on international flights from 20 countries, including India, will continue after May 17.
Saudi Arabia earlier had banned flights from 20 countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, UK and US -- amid fears over COVID-19 crisis.