With coronavirus found almost half of the 150 passengers who had booked a ticket to board the first return flight from India to Australia, according to an Australian government source.
The diagnostic tests, as reported by APE-MPE, quoted by Reuters, came out positive for at least 40 passengers or for about 26% of the total, said the source who asked not to be named because he does not have permission to make statements to the media. much higher than the 3.5% in March.
By late noon, Australian media were reporting an increase in the number of infected passengers, with 9News and Sky reporting that there were 48 passengers positive for the virus and about 25 of their close contacts. Reuters was unable to verify the information as the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Qantas, which operates on behalf of the ministry, referred any questions to the government.
Two negative boarding test
It is not yet clear if authorities have a waiting list for the remaining 9,000 Australians and permanent residents of the country wishing to return home from the pandemic-hit India.
According to the media, the ministry is trying to facilitate other passengers but this is becoming difficult as two negative tests are required to be allowed to board.
In the last three weeks, India has reported more than 300,000 news cases coronavirus daily overloading the health system.
In contrast, Australia’s efforts to contain the pandemic have ranked it among the most successful in the world with just over 29,950 infections and 910 deaths since March 2020.
A military plane departed from Australia today carrying aid to India, the source added. He will return to Australia with the citizens trapped in India, who should all have tested negative before boarding. The passengers will then head to a former mining camp in Howard Springs to be quarantined, according to a spokeswoman for the Northern Ministry of Health.
The government plans to more than double the capacity of the Howard Springs facility, 25 miles southeast of Darwin, to accommodate 2,000 people every two weeks from June.
Two more flights Repatriation of the country’s Royal Air Force to the Northern Territory is scheduled for this month with about 1,000 people scheduled to return by the end of June.
Australia closed its international borders in March 2020 to all but Australian citizens and permanent residents.
Most travelers returning to the country, other than those from New Zealand, had to be quarantined in hotels for two weeks at their own expense, a measure that has helped keep the number of cases low.
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