India extends ban on international flights as country’s COVID-19 cases surge to 3.6 million

India extends ban on international flights till September 30 as the country’s COVID-19 cases surge to 3.6 million.

The Indian aviation regulator in a notification has extended its earlier restriction that was in force till August 31 amid coronavirus.

“However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” it said.

While domestic flights resumed in India from May 25, the ban imposed on international flights has been in place for more than five months. The DGCA has suspended the international flights from March 23.

India has reported 78,512 new novel coronavirus infections on Monday. The new daily count is slightly fewer than its record set the previous day when it posted the biggest, single-day tally of infections of any country in the pandemic.

India, the world’s second-most populous country, has been posting the highest single-day caseload in the world every day since August 7, exceeding the tallies of both the United States and Brazil, according to Reuters, 

At 3.62 million total cases, India is fast catching up to these two countries in terms of cumulative caseload, but it has a relatively lower death rate, says the report.