Arvind Kejriwal Urges Centre to Suspend Flights from Singapore Over New Covid Strain
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday urged the Central Government to cancel all air services with Singapore with immediate effect. Kejriwal has termed the new strain – identified in Singapore as "very dangerous" for children. If air travel between Singapore and India continued, then this new strain of virus could invade India as a third wave.
In a tweet in Hindi, Delhi's CM wrote, "The new form of Corona that identified in Singapore is being said to be extremely dangerous for children, in India it may invade as a third wave. My appeal to the central government – 1. Air services with Singapore to be cancelled with immediate effect 2. Priority on vaccine options should be worked out for children too." Kejriwal's tweet comes amid concerns being raised over a third wave, which is likely to target children, according to experts.
Singapore shuts schools amid new Covid strain:
Meanwhile, the Singapore government on Sunday announced the closure of schools from Wednesday in the wake of increasing coronavirus cases. On May 15, Singapore had warned that the variant of coronavirus, first found in India, were affecting more children in the city-state. Therefore, the government has formulated a plan to vaccinate students under the age of 16.
The government has decided to shift all primary, junior and secondary schools to full home-based learning till May 28. Meanwhile, Singapore's Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said, "Some of these mutations are much more virulent. They seem to attack the younger children. This is a concern for all of us. However, no such case reported through schools in which any infected student has become seriously ill."
