After Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of lockdown till 3 May to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday (14 April), the Ministry of Civil Aviation declared that all domestic and international scheduled airlines operation shall remain suspended till 11:59 pm on 3 May.
Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that easing flight restrictions will be considered after the lockdown ends. “There were good reasons for the Lockdown to be extended till 3rd May. We can consider lifting restrictions on both domestic & international flights thereafter. I understand the problems being faced by people who need to travel & request them to bear with us”, he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Railways have also suspended passenger services till 3 May.
The total number of cases in India climbed to 10,363 on Tuesday, according to the data released by the Health Ministry. The number includes 339 deaths, 1,036 discharged, and one migrated patient.
PM Modi, in his address to the nation, added that strict monitoring will be done till 20 April, after which some conditional relaxations will be allowed in the areas where hotspots don’t emerge. He also said that COVID-19 testing is being done in over 220 labs. “According to world’s experience of tackling COVID-19, 1,500-1,600 beds are needed when cases reach 10,000. We have over 1 lakh beds in India and over 600 hospitals for treating COVID patients. We’re expanding these facilities,” the PM added.
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