'Why expose people to risk?' Kejriwal urges Centre to extend ban on UK flights till Jan 31

New Delhi [India], January 7 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit out at the Centre for partially lifting the ban and resuming flights between India and the UK amid concerns over the new mutant strain of SARS-Cov-2 virus.
"With great difficulty, people have brought the COVID situation in control. UK's COVID situation is very serious. Now, why lift the ban and expose our people to risk?" the AAP chief tweeted.
In another tweet, he urged the government to extend the ban on UK flights till January 31 as Britain's COVID situation is "very serious".
"Centre has decided to lift the ban and start UK flights. In view of the extremely serious COVID situation in the UK, I would urge the central government to extend the ban till January 31," he wrote.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier informed that resumption of flights between India and UK from January 6.
"Resumption of flights between India and the UK: India to the UK from 6 Jan 2021. The UK to India from 8 Jan 2021. 30 flights will operate every week. 15 each by Indian and UK carriers. This schedule is valid till 23 Jan 2021. Further frequency will be determined after review," he had tweeted.
Puri had said that the government is reviewing the situation and it has allowed limited resumption of civil aviation with the United Kingdom.
"We took a decision on limited resumption of civil aviation traffic between India and the United Kingdom based on an assessment of available facts as available with our medical professionals. We decided that RT-PCR test which was done 72 hours ahead of travelling was not enough," Puri had told ANI.
"So, we made it compulsory to test again on arrival. We will review the situation if any steps have to be taken. So far it is the limited resumption of civil aviation with the UK. The total number of flights to the UK has been reduced from 60 a week to 30," he added. (ANI)