Omicron shadow on travel

Govt to review decision on resuming international flights

The Centre has decided to review its move to end the 20-month ban on scheduled international flights — imposed with the first lockdown in March 2020 — as alarm bells are ringing across the world over Omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus. Omicron, first detected in South Africa, has caused several nations to impose restrictions on flights from that country and its neighbors, and the World Health Organisation has labelled it a ‘variant of concern’. PM Narendra Modi had on Saturday directed officials to review plans to ease international travel restrictions. The decision to end the ban on international flights had come the week India posted the smallest rise in cases in 18 months, which was attributed to widespread vaccination and the presence of antibodies in a large section of the population. The PM rightly emphasized the need to be vigilant and proactive, and India must be rigorous in monitoring inbound and outbound travelers. Until now, under the air bubble arrangements, India has been allowing a limited number of flights with around 30 countries. The government had initially decided to allow full-capacity flights from mid-December onwards to and from countries deemed not at risk from the coronavirus infection, while some restrictions were to be placed on flights with nations in the ‘at risk’ category.

One key learning from our coronavirus experience is that life just cannot be brought to a standstill — doing this, we’ve seen, causes economic downturn, job losses, reverse migration of workforce and a sharp rise in poverty. The cruelest part is that despite the lockdowns and restrictions, the insidious virus still managed to infect tens of millions of people, causing a health crisis. The pandemic has endangered lives and livelihoods — we need to strike a balance between health security and financial security. On their part, the citizens must adhere strictly to the Covid-19 protocols and shed vaccination hesitancy — that would be the responsible thing to do.

(Tribune, India)

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