“India Covid Crisis”; The ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic situation is continuously evolving and nobody knows that when things are going to be normal. Covid-19 has severely affected the travel businesses and has become a hurdle for people living in different countries. People can’t fly back to their homes and facing many difficulties due to the deadly pandemic.
India has been critically affected by Covid-19. The deaths and cases are getting higher day by day. Traveling to India or from India can be really dangerous to other countries. Therefore, The Federal Government of Australia has restricted all flights for India to avoid the spread of Covid-19 infection in other regions.
Australia Bans Flights to India
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ordered to suspend all the travel activities to India as it has been highly affected by Covid-19. The current situation in India is very poisonous therefore, the Australian Government has taken this step to close the flights. It has also put restrictions on the indirect pathways that lead towards India.
However, traveling to India can be approved only in a few and exceptional conditions.
- People who are in severe illness and can’t be treated in Australia are allowed to travel to India.
- You can travel from Australia only to the regions that are free from the travel ban.
- People who are assisting in Australia’s national interest.
- You can leave from Australia if the Department of Home Affairs gives you the exemption.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison added that this travel ban will continue till the 15th of May. As the situation is getting worse with time. Furthermore, along with Australia, many other states such as Canada, United Arab Emirates, Britain, Germany, and New Zealand have also suspended the flights to avoid Coronavirus cases.
Medical Aid from Australia to India
On the other side, the Australian Government has also announced to send aid to help Indian citizens. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that they will provide 500 ventilators, 1,000,000 surgical face masks, 20,000 face shields, 100,000 pairs of gloves, 100,000 eyewear, oxygen tanks, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), 500,000 N5, and P2 face masks. He has assured to help India in this difficult time.
The current population of India is 1.3 billion and 352,991 people among them are infected with this deadly virus. There are 2,812 deaths in India that are reported on Monday. It was all started when a man came back to Australia after attending a wedding ceremony in India and affected the other people who were in quarantine. Later on, it kept spreading to the other citizens and communities.
The Australian Government has restricted all flights to India and closed the international borders in March 2020. Australia is a state of 25 million people and it had less than 30,000 cases since this global pandemic Covid-19 started.
The Government of India has ordered its armed forces to deal with the surging Covid-19 aid that is currently being sent by Germany, Britain, United States, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates.
WHO Services to Fight with Coronavirus in India
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that it’s actually heartbreaking to see India in such a critical situation. India is suffering from this severe circumstance more than any other state and now the condition has become worst.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has claimed to send maximum supplies and medical staff to tackle this situation and fight with Coronavirus pandemic. Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that WHO is doing everything to help India and sending extra supplies there. WHO is facilitating India with thousands of oxygen concentrators, laboratory equipment, and prefabricated mobile field hospitals. Moreover, it has sent 2600 medical staff members to India to fight this critical situation.
American epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove, technical lead of WHO, has expressed her opinion that we have seen such a critical situation in many other states but it was not as worse as in India.
Travel to New Zealand
The flights from Australia to New Zealand have been opened since the 19th of April 2021. People can travel between two countries without having to be quarantined. Since the Covid-19 situation is far better in these countries, therefore, the residents of Australia and New Zealand are free to travel between these countries.
Few Conditions for Quarantine-free Traveling
- You must have spent more than two weeks in New Zealand or Australia before catching your flight.
- You have to fulfill the requirements of health conditions by the Government of New Zealand.
The third wave of Covid-19 is going around in the world and it’s getting severe in most of the countries. There are chances that these quarantine-free flights might get suspended if the situation remains the same. However, people living in Australia and New Zealand can travel to both countries without getting the travel exemption.
New Zealand Supports India
Though New Zealand has suspended all the flights to India, however, New Zealand’s Government has announced to help India anyway. India has reached 3000 deaths and 350,000 Covid-19 cases in a few days. Therefore, in this tough time, the Government of New Zealand is standing with India to support and protect it. The administrators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand have declared that they’re planning to send aid to India as soon as possible.
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I’m Nasir Nawaz. I’m a registered migration consultant in Australia. I am based in Sydney. I’ve studied Master of Laws at the University of New South Wales. I’m providing immigration services for several years.
Consult with me for legal advice on Australian visas to permanently live, study, and work in Australia.
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
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Nasir Nawazhttps://themigration.com.au/staging/author/ehsanthemigration-com-au/
