Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 is consoled by another during cremation in Jammu,India,Sunday,April 25,2021. Delhi has been cremating so many bodies of coronavirus victims that authorities are getting requests to start cutting down trees in city parks,as a second record surge has brought India's tattered healthcare system to its knees. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)Credit:AP

There are currently 9000 Australians in India,with 650 considered vulnerable. India’s health system is under extreme pressure and oxygen supplies are being depleted as official case numbers rise by more than 350,000 per day,though actual figures are estimated to be much higher.

Mr McGowan has been scathing of anyone who has recently travelled to India,including Australian cricketers competing in the Indian Premier League and the man who triggered the Anzac Day long weekend lockdown after spending four months in India to attend his own wedding.

When asked whether he supported mercy flights to reduce the risk of Australians contracting the virus in a country with a buckling health system,Mr McGowan said it was not a problem of his government’s making.

“I support a suspension because it’s putting at risk this country,that’s a hard thing to say and Australians or permanent residents or others who want to come into Australia from India,it will be difficult for them,” he said.

“But I just repeat many of the cases we’re getting were people who went recently,I don’t know why they did that,they didn’t have to do that but they did.

“It’s very sad,very difficult to say because people in India no doubt they’re not very happy about being there and it’s obviously a risk for them,it’s also a big risk for our hotel quarantine system.”

Mr McGowan said it was up to the federal government whether it wanted to charter flights and quarantine returning Australians at a federal facility.

But his comments were out of step with his federal colleague and shadow housing minister Jason Clare,who on ABC Radio National said the federal government should bring stranded Australians home.

“The government needs to have a look at those Aussies that are desperately still trying to get out of India,” he said.

“There are cricket players there – there are Australian nationals there that have been trying to get out for months and months – and see what action they can take to get those Australians home as safely as they possibly can.”

The moratorium on direct India flights will be in place until May 15 but Mr Morrison said the government was considering chartering flights to bring the most vulnerable Australians home.

WA Premier Mark McGowan.Credit:Hamish Hastie

More cases likely from India flights

About half of WA’s 28 COVID-positive cases currently in hotel quarantine are returned travellers from India.

Mr McGowan flagged the possibility of more cases after four people tested positive following their flight into Perth on April 24.

He said 78 of the 79 passengers on flight MH125 had been in India recently.

“Our expectation is the number of positive cases from this group of people will grow and potentially grow significantly,” he said.

The Premier also revealed national cabinet agreements requiring returning travellers to record a negative test before boarding their flight,and spend at least 72 hours in another country if returning from India,were not being adhered to.

“I don’t know if that’s working and I don’t know if it’s even been implemented,” he said.

“We obviously have a problem with India,I think some of the tests are being conducted in India either aren’t accurate,or believable and clearly that’s causing some issues here.”

License this article