Flight ban from 6 Covid hotspot cities to Kolkata extended till August 31

Kolkata, Aug 11: The West Bengal govt has extended till August 31, the embargo on direct flights to Kolkata from six Indian cities. The ban on flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Nagpur and Ahmedabad came into force on July 6 and was initially in place till July 19 before being extended July 31 and then to August 15.

Alapan Bandyopadhyay, the West Bengal Additional Chief Secretary (Home) informed P S Kharola, the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation in a letter dated 10 August.

"I am directed to inform you that that the suspension of flight from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur and Ahmedabad to Kolkata will continue till August 30, 2020," the letter stated.

Following are the high COVID-19 prevalence cities:

• Delhi
• Mumbai
• Pune
• Nagpur
• Chennai
• Ahmedabad

Meanwhile, India's Covid-19 tally climbed to 22,68,675 on Tuesday. In the last 24 hours, 871 additional deaths have been reported and the total number of fatalities has risen to 45,257.