OZ CITIZEN MOVES COURT AGAINST BAN ON FLIGHTS FROM INDIA
Lawyers of Gary Newman, stranded in Bengaluru, argue in a court in Sydney that the ban on flights is “unconstitutional”
A 73-year-old Australian, who is stranded in India since March last year, has filed a lawsuit before a Sydney court against the federal government for banning flights from India and threatening to prosecute those attempting to enter the country with the possibility of a jail term and a penalty.
The lawyers of Gary Newman, who is stranded in Bengaluru, have argued in a court in Sydney that the ban was “unconstitutional”.
A 73-yearold Australian, who is stranded in India since March last year, has filed a lawsuit before a Sydney court against the federal government for banning flights from India and threatening to prosecute those attempting to enter the country with the possibility of a jail term and a penalty.
The lawyers of Gary Newman, who is stranded in Bengaluru, have argued in a court in Sydney that the ban was “unconstitutional”.
The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens from returning home, if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back.
The government threatened to prosecute them with a possibility of five years of jail term or a penalty of 66,000 Australian dollars (US$50,899). On Tuesday, PM Scott Morrison backtracked on the move, saying it was highly unlikely violators would be jailed.
Nasal swab test kit reuse racket busted: Report
In a shocking development in Indonesia, the BBC has reported that a number of staff of a pharma company had been detained for allegedly reselling used Covid-19 nasal swab test kits over a period of time.
The report, citing Indonesian police sources, says that as many as 9,000 passengers at the airport in the city of Medan were possibly tested with the reused nasal swab kits, say police.
State-owned Kimia Farma is reportedly facing a lawsuit filed on behalf of the passengers who were tested with the kits.
Another BBC report claims the number of mountaineers at the Everest base camp who have tested positive for the coronavirus has gone up to 17, which the Nepal government has denied.
WHO has low confidence in Sinopharm jab data
World Health Organization (WHO) experts have voiced “very low confidence” in data provided by Chinese state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm on its Covid-19 vaccine regarding the risk of serious side-effects in some patients, but overall confidence in its ability to prevent the disease, a document seen by Reuters shows.
A WHO spokesman said that the document on Sinopharm vaccine BBIBP-CorV was “one of many resources” on which recommendations are made, tentatively scheduled to be issued later this week. In Beijing, Sinopharm was not immediately reachable for comment outside working hours.
In Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi urged foreigners on Tuesday to book their domestic summer holidays, saying it was set to introduce travel passes from the middle of May, sooner than much of the rest of Europe.
Speaking after a meeting of tourism ministers from the Group of 20 wealthy nations, Draghi said it was important to provide clear, simple rules to ensure that tourists can once again travel freely in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oman has barred public health care workers from quitting amid a major surge in coronavirus cases. The ban applies to doctors, nurses and other health workers in the public sector and is meant to ensure “the efficiency of the health system” in its fight against Covid-19, local media reported, citing an order from the health ministry.