Amid the country’s escalating Covid-19 crisis, the United States has now told its citizens to leave India as soon as possible.
Amid the country’s escalating Covid-19 crisis, the United States has now told its citizens to leave India as soon as possible.
In the highest travel advisory (level 4) issued by the Department of State, U.S. citizens were told “not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.” The department said that there are 14 direct daily flights between India and the U.S. and other services that connect through Europe.
#India: Access to medical care is severely limited due to COVID-19 cases. U.S. citizens wishing to depart should use available commercial options now. Daily direct flights to the US and flights via Paris and Frankfurt are available. https://t.co/p5a3v5ws9y pic.twitter.com/LqHhCiZVEg
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) April 28, 2021
Hitting a new daily high today, India recorded 3,79,257 fresh infections and 3,645 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total caseload has risen to 1.83 crore cases; over 2.04 lakh people have died so far. The second wave of the pandemic has hit the country hard, with hospitals overwhelmed with incoming patients.
Earlier this week, Australia banned all flights from India to relieve pressure on the nation’s system of mainly quarantining returned residents from overseas in inner-city hotels, after a jump in infections. The U.K. has barred any visitor who’s been in India in the previous 10 days from entering. British and Irish nationals arriving in England from India must quarantine in a hotel.
Many countries including the US, UK, Russia and China are sending help to India amid the crisis. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III, in a tweet, said: “We’re committed to use every resource at our disposal, within our authority, to support India’s frontline healthcare workers.”
China’s Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Wednesday said in a tweet: “Chinese medical suppliers are working overtime on orders from India, at least 25,000 orders for oxygen concentrators in recent days. Cargo planes are under plan for medical supplies. Chinese customs will facilitate relevant process.”
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