80 passengers barred from travel
Sourced Content (ABC & RNZ)
Wellington, May 16, 2021
Seventy persons were barred from travelling on the first repatriation flight from India to Darwin in Australia after having failed Covid-19 tests. Of these, 46 were tested positive and 24 were identified as close contacts.
The Qantas aircraft laned at the Darwin Royal Australia Airforce base yesterday (Saturday, May 15, 2021) following the end of the Federal Government’s controversial ban on travel from India. It was scheduled to carry up to 150 passengers but only 80 people were allowed.
The Australian government could not fill the flight with more passengers because of pre-flight testing restrictions.
A great challenge
The new arrivals have been taken to the Howard Springs Centre where they will remain in quarantine for a fortnight.
Howard Springs has repatriated Australians from Wuhan and the infamous Diamond Princess cruise ship. But the resumption of repatriation flights from India will see the facility face its greatest challenge yet.
But many of those left behind in India are still in a state of shock.
Disappointed travellers
Jitin Wig was due to board the plane with his family before both his wife and his toddler tested positive to Covid-19.
He told the ABC that his wife and toddler were not experiencing any symptoms but remained deeply worried about how he would find care for them if they fell seriously ill.
“The whole medical system here is a shambles, so if it does get serious here for any of us, I am not sure how I would be able to get help. I am not sure if I would be able to get any medicines, any oxygen, or anything else they might need,” he said.
Travel ban and after
The federal government introduced the India travel ban a fortnight ago to help quarantine facilities deal with the very high infection rate of Australians returning from the country.
Passengers on this flight had to undergo and return a negative result on two tests before they could get on the plane – a PCR test in the two days beforehand and then a rapid antigen test.
Mr Wig said that he was incredulous when he found out that they had tested positive for Covid-19 because his whole family had been self-isolating for a month, and everyone had been in good health.
“We were just dancing all night to toddler tunes, me and my child, absolutely no suspicion, with no symptoms. So, when we saw the report, and I told my wife; she thought that I was playing a prank and it could not be that we are positive. extremely surprising,” he said.
Another flight from India is scheduled in just over a week.
Demand outstrips supply
But demand for places on the government assisted Qantas flights still far outstrips supply.
There are about 10,000 Australians, permanent residents and their immediate family members seeking to return home from India, with around 1000 who are classified as ‘vulnerable’ for health or financial reasons.
The Australians who have tested positive will still be eligible for future flights, but only after they can prove they no longer have the virus.
Mr Wig said while he was deeply disappointed to miss the flight, he accepted the government’s rationale.
“I understand the government’s position. If people are testing positive, they don’t want to bring the infection over, I understand they are trying to protect the economy, the people. Even though I am one of those people who did not get to go on a flight today, I would still agree that if somebody is testing positive, it is best – for the larger good, I would say – to not bring them over,” he said.
He called on the government to provide medical support – including oxygen supplies and medication to those who remain stuck in the country.
Labor slams government
Labor has hammered the Coalition over the predicament of stranded Australians in India, with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese saying that the Coalition should have moved more quickly to get people home.
“The fact that some of those Australians have contracted Covid as a direct result of not being brought home to safety,” he said.
Some health experts are uncomfortable with the policy of leaving Covid-positive Australians in India, to grapple with that country’s overwhelmed healthcare system.
-Published under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz
