JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked the Centre to rethink the plan to resume flights from the UK.
Gehlot reminded the Centre that India was late in banning international flights in early 2020 when COVID-19 had started spreading which ultimately led to a huge crisis in the country.
In Sri Ganganagar district, 3 people of one family who had returned from the UK on December 18 have been confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus strain in the UK. They are currently being treated at a government hospital in the district.
In a tweet, Gehlot remarked: “Cases of the new strain of coronavirus emerging in the UK are rising rapidly in India is a matter of great concern. The GoI must rethink the earlier decision to revive flights from the UK from January 7. In January 2020, if we had banned international flights when COVID-19 had started spreading, we may not have seen the critical situation that we now see in the country.”
In a second tweet, Gehlot asserted: “The GoI must ensure that the revival of flights from the UK does not create the kind of crisis that the new Corona strain does not lead to the same crisis as in the past.”
Dozens of countries have put in place travel restrictions to and from the UK owing to the new and more contagious variant of the novel coronavirus reported in Britain.
Due to the new strain of novel coronavirus in the UK, Britain has issued "stay at home" orders and the entire country is now in lockdown.