Photo used for illustrative purpose.

Passenger air services were suspended in late March 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of  COVID-19. While domestic flight services resumed from May 25, 2020, international flight services were only maintained via 'Bubble Agreements.'

The federal health ministry said reports of mutations in the variant, identified as B.1.1.529, had "serious public health implications," and asked states to adopt rigorous screening and testing for all passengers from South Africa and other "at risk" countries.

"This variant is reported to have a significantly high number of mutations, and thus, has serious public health implications for the country in view of recently relaxed visa restrictions and opening up of international travel," health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to states late on Thursday. But India's civil aviation ministry said it had decided to let airlines resume scheduled international flights from Dec.15, lifting a nearly two-year-old ban imposed to stem the spread of COVID-19.

The resumption of flights would be based on the coronavirus risk levels of individual countries, according to a formal government order.

Some countries in Europe and Asia have rushed to tighten border controls and restrict travel because of the new variant.

India's foreign ministry said there was no immediate information on steps the government was taking. "This is a developing incident," foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi told a news conference.

The federal health ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for further comment.

India, the world's second-worst affected country by COVID-19, posted the smallest rise in new cases in one-and-a-half years this week, due to increased vaccinations and antibodies in a large section of its population from previous infections.

Its total cases of coronavirus reached 34.56 million on Friday. India's daily caseload has halved since September and it reported 10,549 new cases on Friday.

Earlier this month, India identified 10 countries "at risk" including Europe, China, South Africa, and New Zealand, among others, and has opened its borders to 99 countries overall.

Reuters

Reuters