The WHO announced that the global death toll of COVID-19 has now surpassed 3 million.
Video / AP
A grim new record has fallen more than a year after the coronavirus pandemic began spreading with the highest number of passengers on a single flight recording a positive test.
Indian airline Vistara holds the new record after 47 out of 188 passengers on a flight from Delhi to Hong Kong tested positive.
The Indian airline Vistara sent flight 6395 off on the five-hour flight on April 4 confident about the journey after all passengers onboard tested negative to the virus within a 72-hour pre-flight window.
✈️ Outbreak—47 positive #COVID19 of a 188 seat Vistara flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong have tested positive, after all tested negative 72 hours prior. The scariest thing? Only 8 detected before began quarantine. 39 only identified later during hotel quarantine, 22 at day 12!🧵 pic.twitter.com/TTkBetdHrH
Six passengers tested positive upon arrival in Hong Kong but there would be more. There were 25 cases linked to the flight by the end of the first week and another 22 passengers tested positive almost two weeks after arriving.
The Hindustan Times reports that after the virus spread among passengers, Hong Kong suspended all flights connecting with India.
Sources told the publication that Hong Kong has "also suspended flights to and from Pakistan as well as the Philippines" for a period of two weeks.
A spokesperson for Vistara said "all guidelines issued by the Indian as well as the destination countries' authorities for all flights" had been adhered to "including all charter flights to and from Hong Kong".
On the airline's website, it welcomes travellers back but warns: "While we will be taking all necessary precautions, it is imperative that those travelling with us also follow intensive personal precautions and safety measures to ensure we are all doing our part in being safe and make flying feel safe again."
The situation in India continues to worsen.
Grounded aircraft, including Vistara, stand at Indira Gandhi International Airport during a lockdown implemented due to the coronavirus in New Delhi, India, last year. Photo / Getty Images
On Monday, the government opened its Covid-19 vaccination drive to all adults from May, as the vast nation battles a record-breaking spike in infections that forced the capital into a week-long lockdown.
The looming lockdown sparked a crush at a major bus terminal in New Delhi, with tens of thousands of migrant workers trying to flee the restrictions – fuelling fears they could spread the virus to their rural hometowns.
People make enquiries after the gates of a vaccination centre was closed soon after opening due to vaccine shortage in Kochi, Kerala state, India. Photo / AP
India, which currently limits shots to those over the age of 45, kicked off its inoculation drive in mid-January and has administered more than 123 million shots so far.
But experts have called for a faster rollout to combat the surge, which has placed a huge strain on the vast country's already overstretched healthcare system.
Since the daily increases in the caseload fell to below 9000 in February, numbers have been skyrocketing, with a new record of 273,810 infections on Monday to take the total to 15.06 million, second only to the United States.
News.com.au last week reported that more than 1 million cases were recorded in a single week in April when India's daily death toll passed 1000 for the first time since mid-October.
It comes as hundreds of people tested positive at the site of the world's biggest religious festival.
The virus was detected in more than 1000 people in just 48 hours in the city of Haridwar, which lies along the holy river where the Kumbh Mela festival is being observed, officials said.
Hundreds of migrant workers wait at a bus station to leave for their villages, in New Delhi, India, after the state imposed a week-long lockdown. Photo / AP
Experts are blaming massive religious events, packed political rallies in poll-bound states and crowded public places.
The government last Wednesday postponed high school exams for 15- to 18-year-olds, which were to be held in May-June, amid the resurgence of the virus.
