Canberra: Australia has suspended all direct passenger flights from India due to a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday.
Morrison announced that all flights from India to Australia will be halted until May 15 at the earliest.
According to Xinhua, the Australian Prime Minister said that indirect flights through other cities were suspended by their governments, and repatriation flights run by the Australian government aimed at getting Australian residents and citizens stranded in India home would resume as soon as possible.
“We don’t think the answer is to just forsake those in India and just shut them off,” Morrison told reporters after a meeting of the National Security Committee, as reported by Xinhua.
Morrison also said Australia would provide an “initial” support package, including ventilators, masks, surgical gowns, goggles, gloves, and face shields, to India.