Canada Extends Flight Ban From India By 1 Month

In a bid to further contain the spread of COVID-19, Canada has extended the ban on direct flights from India by a month until June 21.

Ban on flights from Pakistan has also been extended along with India for the same time period.

The ban, which was first imposed on April 22, was set to expire on Saturday. This has now been extended by a period of 30 days.

However, cargo flights will be permitted as shipments of essentials supplies like vaccines and medical aid need to be maintained.

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"The minister of transport is of the opinion that it is necessary for aviation safety and the protection of the public," according to a notice to airmen.

Passengers from India and Pakistan however can arrive in Canada via a third country but they will need to produce a COVID-19 negative report before being allowed to enter Canada.

Transport minister Omar Alghabra, at a government pandemic briefing, said that the restriction was put in place "based on public health advice to reduce the importation risk of Covid-19 and its variants."

"I can say that we've seen a significant reduction in the number of positive cases of Covid-19 arriving from international flights since this restriction was put in place," he said.

India has been severely affected by the unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus and hospitals in several states are reeling under the shortage of health workers, vaccines, oxygen, drugs and beds.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the daily rise in coronavirus cases in India remained below 300,000 for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday with 2,57,299 new cases recorded in a single day.

The total tally of India stood at 2,62,89,290.

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