Australian PM Scott Morrison on Saturday expressed his nation's solidarity with India and extended his wishes for speedy recovery of those suffering from coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as India battles its second wave of the pandemic. We know how strong and resilient the Indian nation is”, tweeted Australia Prime Minister. Earlier, the Australian government has decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights from India by 30% after registering a spike in incoming travellers testing positive for Covid-19. People coming from high-risk countries such as India will also have to test negative for Covid-19 at least 72 hours before boarding a flight to Australia.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the reduction will apply to government-organised repatriation flights and commercial flights. The change will take effect “in the months ahead”, he said without giving details. Authorities in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) said there would be changes to the schedule of repatriation flights from India to Howard Springs and the requirements for travellers. “All repatriation flights not yet booked but planned for the NT for May will now be deferred until June,” chief minister Michael Gunner was quoted as saying by ABC News.“Anyone returning from India on these flights and all flights thereafter will be required to isolate for two weeks prior to departure,” he said.The move follows the Howard Springs quarantine facility dealing with the highest number of Covid-19 cases since it began handling repatriation flights last year, with most cases recorded among arrivals from India. India recorded over 3 lakh Covid-19 cases for the third consecutive day. According to the data released by the Union Health Ministry, 3,46,786 new cases and 2,624 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. With this, the total Covid tally of India has reached 1,66,10481. The country has so far reported 1,89,544 deaths.