Indian airline, Vistara, set a new record on the weekend for the highest number of passengers with Covid on a single flight.
Despite requirements to test before travel in New Delhi, 47 passengers tested positive for the virus upon landing in Hong Kong.
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As a result, Hong Kong has now banned all flights from India, as well as Pakistan and the Philippines.
“The Government announced today (April 18) the invocation of the place-specific flight suspension mechanism for India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. From 00:00 on April 20, all passenger flights from these places will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong for 14 days,” a Hong Kong government release said yesterday.
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Vistara said that it follows all prescribed guidelines, explaining that the airline “ensures strict compliance with all guidelines issued by the Indian as well as the destination countries’ authorities for all flights, including all charter flights to and from Hong Kong.”
“We will continue to be guided by any new requirements that may be introduced,” a Vistara spokesperson said.
A record single-day rise of 273,810 coronavirus infections has taken India’s case tally to 1,929,329.
Many countries around the world are detecting the ‘Indian double mutant strain’ among its citizens, which is described to be more infectious or more resistant to the body’s immune response.
The mutant strain – known as B.1.617 consists of a number of mutations including E484Q, L452R, and P681R.
