”About 88 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in the country are taking place in the age group of 45 years and above, making them the most vulnerable group that needs to be protected,” he said, adding that this is the reason behind allowing their vaccination from April 1.

Indian airlines are currently operating around 70-75 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. India allows domestic carriers to operate maximum 80 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights currently. This cap is unlikely to go soon as a new wave of the virus is spreading in certain states.

”Last few days have seen a decline in the number of air passengers largely due to restrictions & imposition of compulsory RT-PCR test by various states. Due to this, we have decided to retain the permissible limit to 80 per cent of schedule,” Civil Aviation Minister Puri said a few days back on Twitter.

Six states — Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu — collectively account for 80.90 per cent of the 40,715 infections reported in a span of 24 hours.
The doubling time of COVID-19 cases in India has decreased from 504.4 days on March 1 to 202.3 days on March 23, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, highlighting that six states have reported a surge in daily new cases and together account for 80.90 per cent of the new infections reported in a day.

Meanwhile, more than 32.53 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered on March 22, which is the highest single-day vaccination so far, taking the total number of people inoculated to over 4.8 crore.

While talking about vaccination, the MHA said: “While the vaccination drive is proceeding smoothly, the pace is uneven across different states and UTs; and, the slow pace of vaccination in some states/ UTs is a matter of concern. Vaccination against COVID-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission.”

“However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” the DGCA added.