Leave India as soon as it’s safe, US advises citizens

NEW DELHI: Stating that “access to all types of medical care is becoming severely limited in India” due to the Covid surge, the US government on Wednesday night advised citizens “not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so...”
“US citizens who wish to depart India should take advantage of available commercial transportation options now,” the US state department tweeted. “Daily direct flights to the US and flights via Paris and Frankfurt are available.”
In a separate health alert, the US embassy said, “New cases and deaths from Covid-19 have risen sharply throughout India to record levels. Testing infrastructure is reportedly constrained in many locations. Hospitals are reporting shortages of supplies, oxygen, and beds for both Covid and non-Covid-related patients. US citizens are reporting being denied admittance to hospitals in some cities due to a lack of space.” The alert said the CDC had issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice and the state department a Level 4 Travel Advisory, its highest.
It urged “US citizens to enroll in STEP at step.state-.gov in order to receive critical information related to health and safety in India”.
In the past week, about 20 countries have either suspended passenger flights from India for varying periods of time or imposed strict entry norms for travellers from here.
Some countries are not allowing entry to travellers who have been in India for the previous 14 days. These include Canada, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Iran, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bangladesh, Maldives, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. People can travel from India to some of these places only if they have spent more than 14 days in a third country and have a negative Covid test report from that place.