West Bengal suspends UK flights to Kolkata from January 3 amid Covid spike – Hindustan Times

Kolkata News

Ganga Sagar Mela can’t be stopped, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said earlier in the day, as the government won’t be able to stop people from coming, Mamata said training the gun on the Centre for not raising brow on Kumbh Mela. 

The West Bengal government on Thursday announced a ban on all international flights coming from the United Kingdom to Kolkata, starting from January 3, following a sudden rise in the number of Covid cases in the state. The suspension order will remain in effect until further orders, the government said. Passengers coming from other non-at-risk countries by international flights to West Bengal will have to mandatorily undergo a test on arrival at their cost. “The airlines will randomly select 10% of the passengers for RT-PCR test and the balance 90% shall undergo Rapid Antigen Test at the arrival airport,” the government’s new directive for international passengers said.

The Covid-19 situation in West Bengal worsened suddenly with Kolkata emerging as one of the districts of concern. Kolkata on Wednesday reported 540 new cases while the state reported 1,089 cases in total.

“Most omicron cases are being detected among people coming on flights from the UK. It’s a fact that the omicron carriers are coming via international flights. The Centre must decide on imposing restrictions on flights from countries where omicron cases are high,” Mamata Banerjee said as she visited the Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas.

“The Centre is only worried about Ganga Sagar. They should think of Kumbh Mela. We can’t stop people coming to Ganga Sagar Mela from UP, Bihar and other parts of the country. Those who come here will follow Covid-19 protocols,” Mamata said.

On Wednesday, Mamata held a review meeting and asked the officials to assess the Covid situation of the state. Banerjee said schools and colleges could be closed in case the surge continues. Containment zones will again be marked in Kolkata, the CM said. A decision of local trains is also in the offing.

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Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/kolkata-news/west-bengal-suspends-all-flights-coming-from-uk-to-kolkata-airport-from-january-3-amid-rise-in-covid-cases-101640866405813.html