By Stefica Nicol Bikes
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia carried out its 1st repatriation flight from India immediately after temporarily banning all vacation from the COVID-ravaged nation previous thirty day period, the government reported, with 80 passengers arriving in Darwin on Saturday from New Delhi.
Travellers had to present two adverse COVID-19 exams just before boarding the federal government-backed Qantas flight and have been taken upon arrival to a converted mining camp in Howard Springs in the Northern Territory for a two-7 days quarantine.
The Australian authorities arrived under fire for briefly barring all journey to and from India very last thirty day period, a plan that drew weighty criticism from lawmakers, expatriates and the Indian diaspora.
A whole of 70 passengers were being barred from boarding the flight on Friday just after they or their near contacts analyzed optimistic for the coronavirus.
“We are pursuing the professional medical assistance and making certain that we defend Australians here and I am delighted that that 1st flight has arrived, and of course there will be far more flights to appear,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg stated in a televised briefing.
“It’s significant to do the testing that we are performing proper now, prior to people occur on all those planes to Australia. That is the course of action we are subsequent, and we will carry on to abide by.”
Two extra Royal Australian Air Power repatriation flights to the Northern Territory are scheduled this thirty day period, with about 1,000 men and women planned to return by the close of June. About 9,000 Australians in India have registered with the federal governing administration, requesting to return household.
The authorities aims to a lot more than double the ability of the quarantine facility in Howard Springs, 25 km (16 miles) southeast of the town of Darwin, so that it can cope with the arrival of 2,000 people each two weeks from June.
India has described extra than 300,000 infections a day about the previous a few months, too much to handle its wellness treatment process and leaving quite a few with no healthcare facility beds, oxygen and enough remedy.
By contrast, Australia has been just one of the world’s most effective international locations in curbing the pandemic, with snap lockdowns, border closures and swift speak to-tracing. It has noted just under 29,950 coronavirus bacterial infections and 910 COVID-19 fatalities given that the pandemic started out.
(Crafting by Lidia Kelly Enhancing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
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