The operations of all domestic commercial flights shall be stopped indefinitely from midnight of March 24, declares the Ministry of Civil Aviation as the novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 415 on Monday. However, the restrictions shall not apply to cargo flights.
All the airlines have been directed to plan accordingly so as to land at their destination before 23:59 hours on March 24.
The development happened hours after a complete lockdown has been announced in 19 states and union territories in India. Some parts of six states and union territories have been kept under lockdown, said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.
Coronavirus in India updates
A man who had returned to Kolkata from Italy died at a state hospital today. With this, India records eighth coronavirus death. This marks the first death due to the deadly virus in West Bengal. The man and his family had reportedly come back from Italy, however, his son is still there.
More than 341,000 people have contracted the Covid-19 pandemic and over 14,700 have died, according to a report by Johns Hopkins University.
