Covid-19: Hong Kong suspends flights connecting India from Apr 20 to May 3

Hong Kong has announced the suspension of all flights connecting with India for 14 days starting Tuesday amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the region. The authorities have also suspended flights from Pakistan and the Philippines.

"The government announced today (April 18) the invocation of the place-specific flight suspension mechanism for India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. From 00:00 on April 20, all passenger flights from these places will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong for 14 days," the government said in a statement.

"These places will also at the same time be specified as extremely high-risk Group A specified places under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H), so as to restrict persons who have stayed in these places from boarding for Hong Kong," the release added.

This comes hours after Hong Kong had invoked a flight-specific suspension mechanism to prohibit the landing of flights operated by two airlines, including one Vistara flight from Mumbai.

"The Prevention & Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances & Travellers) Regulation was invoked to prohibit the landing of Cathay Pacific passenger flights from Manila, the Philippines, in Hong Kong, and the landing of passenger flights of TATA SIA Airlines (Vistara) from Mumbai, India, in Hong Kong from April 19 to May 2," the government release said.

India has been witnessing an unprecedented increase in COVID-19 infections and has been adding more than two lakh positive cases for the past three days.