Can't differ with Centre on flights but care needed: Minister

With the Centre announcing

resumption of domestic passenger flights from May 25, senior Maharashtra Minister Jayant Patil on Wednesday said care should be taken so that the number of coronavirus patients in Mumbai and Pune do not shoot up following the move.

Mumbai and Pune, home to busy airports in Maharashtra, have emerged as COVID-19 hotspots and account for a major chunk of the positive cases in the state.

Speaking to reporters here, Patil said the state will have to accept the Centres decision if passengers travelling in these flights have medical certificates and are ready to be quarantined on their arrival in Maharashtra.

 

Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced that the domestic passenger flights will resume from May 25 in a calibrated manner.

It is important what norms they (the Centre) apply to passengers. We will have to accept it (the decision) if the passengers have medical certificates, are properly tested and are ready to get quarantined (on arrival), Patil said during a press conference online.

It will not be right if we take a different position than the decision made at the national-level.

But it is our concern, due care should be taken so that (new positive) cases are not added in Mumbai and Pune, which have already witnessed a huge numbers of cases, the Water Resources Minister added.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25, when the Modi government imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.