01-07-2021 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
NEWS
01-07-2021 to 15-07-2021
17
Philippines extends travel ban
on India until July 15
NZ to resume travel bubble
with some Aus states
Wellington : New Zealand will resume the quarantine free travel
bubble with some Australian states from Sunday after Wellington
relaxes Covid-19 restrictions on Tuesday night.
The capital will move back down to alert level 1 from midnight on
Tuesday due to zero community transmission found after the Covid-
19 alert moved up to level 2 about a week ago, Director-General of
Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference.
The raising of alert level on Wednesday was due to a Sydney
tourist who visited Wellington between June 18 and 21 and tested
positive for the more infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 upon
returning to Australia, reports Xinhua news agency.
Under alert level 2, any mass gatherings are prohibited and limited
to 100 people.
Facial masks are mandatory on public transport.
As Wellington prepares to return to Alert Level 1 tonight, people
in the region are urged to remain vigilant and get tested if they are
feeling unwell or were at a location of interest, Covid-19 Response
Minister Chris Hipkins said.
He said there have been no cases of Covid-19 detected in the community
after nearly 2,500 negative results from contacts of the case
(including repeat negative results from the case's close contacts) and
wastewater testing The pause on the quarantine free travel from
South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and Victoria
will be lifted at 11.59 p.m. on Sunday, Hipkins said, adding this could
change if the situation in Australia evolves. The pause with Western
Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Queensland will
remain in place so that outstanding test results can be returned and to
"give New Zealand time to assess next steps", the Minister said,
adding this will be reviewed again next on July 6.
Australian Deputy PM fined
for not wearing mask
Canberra : Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has
been fined A$200 ($151) for failing to wear a face mask inside a
petrol station in New South Wales (NSW) state.
Joyce, also the leader
of the National Party of
Australia, confirmed the
incident of breaching
coronavirus restrictions,reports
Xinhua
news agency. "I went
into the Caltex service
station. I was going to
the airport, fuelled the
car up with fuel, went in,
30 seconds later, A$200
it cost me, because I didn't
wear one of these
(masks)," he told Sky
News Australia on
Tuesday.
NSW police said they
were called to the petrol
station by a member of
the public and issued the
fine to a 54-year-old
male after reviewing the security camera footage.
"That person was apologetic and cooperated with police being
firm and fair," deputy commissioner Gary Worboys told reporters.
"Police are rostered 24/7 right across the state and they will take
action, and certainly the incident at Armidale is clear evidence that
police will investigate and take action."
It comes a week after Joyce was returned as the Deputy Prime
Minister after a successful leadership challenge against former
Nationals leader Michael McCormack.
The governing coalition government in Australia is formed by the
Liberal Party and the National Party, with the leader of the later serving
as the Deputy Prime Minister.
Joyce previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister from 2016
to 2018 when he resigned after being accused of sexual harassment,
an allegation he strongly denied.
Manila : The Philippines has extended
the travel ban for all inbound travellers from
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Nepal, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) until July 15, presidential spokesperson
Harry Roque said on Tuesday.
"This is one of the proactive measures
imposed to implement international border
control because of the Covid-19 Delta variant,"
Roque said in a televised press conference.
The Philippines has detected the more
transmissible Delta variants in the samples
taken from 17 returning Filipinos, among
whom a seafarer has died, the Department of
Health of the Philippines said.
The Southeast Asian country initially
imposed travel restrictions on India from
April 29 amid the devastating second wave
of the pandemic in the South Asian giant,
reports Xinhua news agency. It widened the
ban to include travellers from Bangladesh,
Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka from May 7.
It also banned international arrivals from
Oman and the UAE from May 15 after overseas
Filipino workers who flew in from these
countries tested positive for the Delta variant
Abu Dhabi : The Abu-Dhabi
based Etihad Airways said on
Tuesday that suspension of
flights from India to the United
Arab Emirates' (UAE) capital
city has been extended till July
21.
In a reply to a query on
Twitter, Etihad said: "We were
expecting some updates regarding
the travel ban extension
which we just received few
moments ago. I can confirm that
the ban is not lifted yet and has
been extended until 21st of July.
Our website will be updated
shortly."
The UAE's General Civil
Aviation Authority (GCAA) had earlier clarified that passenger flights between the Gulf nation
first detected in India. The Philippines has
reported a total of 1,408,058 confirmed cases
of Covid-19 as of Tuesday, with 24,557
deaths.
General Bipin Rawat visits forward
areas along LAC in Himachal
New Delhi : Chief of Defence Staff of
the armed forces, General Bipin Rawat, on
Tuesday visited the forward areas along the
Line of Actual Control with China in the
central sector in Himachal Pradesh.
On arrival at the forward most post in
the Sumdoh sub-sector, the Chief of
Defence Staff was briefed on the operational
preparedness of the forces towards
safeguarding the territorial integrity of the
nation. He interacted extensively with the
Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police
and General Reserve Engineer Force personnel
deployed in the remote areas and
appreciated their state of high morale.
He encouraged all ranks to keep up the
high state of alertness and professionalism
displayed by them.
Later in the day, General Rawat visited
the headquarters of the Western Command
of the Indian Army at Chandimandir,
where he reviewed the operational situation
along the western borders.
The CDS commended the formation for
their efforts to ensure force preservation
and at the same time stepping forward to
provide support in terms of establishing
Covid hospitals in Chandigarh, Patiala and
Faridabad, providing paramedical staff in
aid of civil hospitals, assistance in vaccination
of common citizens and revitalising
oxygen plants at various places in the
nation's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
He stressed upon the need to focus on
training hard and remaining vigilant to
thwart the nefarious designs of our adversaries.
He emphasised that all ranks must
keep themselves abreast with the latest
trends in information technology, emerging
cyber threats and counter measures.
India-Abu Dhabi flight suspension
extended till July 21: Etihad
and India will remain suspended
until further notice, reports the
Khaleej Times.
On Sunday, Dubai's flagship
carrier Emirates said that expects
to resume its flights from India
from July 7. But said that it was
waiting for exact travel protocols
and relevant permits from the
government authorities.
The Dubai-based airline had
announced the suspension first
on April 24 as a devastating second
wave of the pandemic hit
India, leading to record high
number of daily cases and
deaths. In May, it had extended
the suspension till at least June
14.