Australia Bans Flights From India Due to Hotel Quarantine Risk

Australia is banning all flights from pandemic-ravaged India until at least May 15 as the South Asian nation battles what Prime Minister Scott Morrison described as a “terrible crisis.”

In a bid to ease pressure on Australia’s system of mainly quarantining returned residents from overseas in inner-city hotels, Morrison had already announced last week a 30% cut in flights entering from India. There are mounting concerns that hotels are ill-equipped to contain the virus, and cases have leaked into the community in the past month triggering snap lockdowns in Brisbane and Perth.