The Centre started the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ on May 6 to help those stranded due to the novel coronavirus pandemic reach their destinations via international repatriation flights.
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, 9,285 repatriation flights were operated by the Air India Group under the Vande Bharat Mission till November 17, carrying over 11.89 lakh passengers. Of these, 4,641 were inbound flights carrying 7,45,175 passengers and 4,644 were outbound flights with 4,44,369 fliers.
The mission is currently in Phase 7 which will continue until January 28, 2021.
Here is the repatriation international flights schedule for November 19:
Mean-while, With 45,576 new COVID-19 infections, India’s total cases are now close to 90 lakh. With 585 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the toll mounts to 1,31,578. Of the 89,58,484 infections, active cases dropped to 4,43,303, while as many as 83 lakh people have been discharged.
Delhi’s coronavirus tally on Wednesday climbed to over 500,000 after 7,486 fresh cases and 131 new fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 7,943. This is the highest number of deaths reported in the city so far. Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the city, Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday reiterated that there will be no lockdown in the national capital, but said that there can be local restrictions at some busy places.
The Covid lockdown has set off sweeping economic distress in cities but its crucial dimension has remained untold: the silent, devastating toll on the working woman in the city suddenly out of work. Now locked out of the job market, they are being pushed to debt; some are selling off household items their incomes had helped buy, others are returning to places where they came from – all in a desperate search for a job. The Indian Express spoke to a few of them about their hardships
In another story, Chinese officials have claimed that traces of Covid-19 were found on more cold-chain imports from different countries, including India, amid increasing criticism from several nations that the testing and restrictions are not based on science and would disrupt trade. This is the second-time Chinese officials claimed to have found coronavirus on Indian fish exports. On the vaccine front, Pfizer Inc. said a final analysis of clinical-trial data showed its vaccine was 95% effective.
