49 TEST POSITIVE ON INDIA-HONG KONG FLIGHT

At least 49 passengers on a flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said, as the financial hub introduced an emergency ban on all flights from India in a crackdown over a new wave of cases.

All of the passengers who tested positive flew into Hong Kong on a flight run by Indian operator Vistara on April 4.

The positive tests are significant as Hong Kong is regularly recording fewer daily cases than the total detected on the flight since it brought a fourth wave under control in January.

Authorities imposed a two-week ban on all flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from Monday, categorising the countries as “extremely high risk” after detecting the N501Y mutant Covid-19 strain for the first time.

The identified Vistara aircraft can hold a total of 188 passengers but Hong Kong authorities did not announce how many it had been carrying.