India News – Nov 1-15, 2021, Vol 2 Issue 9

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INDIA NEWS

Nov 1-15, 2021 - Vol 2, Issue 9

Qantas to launch new Sydney-Delhi route in Dec IANS

Canberra, October 22 (IANS): Australia's flag carrier Qantas on October 22 announced its plans to launch a new route from Sydney to Delhi in December with three return flights per week, building to daily flights by end of the year. The plan is subject to discussions with the Indian authorities to finalise necessary approvals, according to the company's announcement on October 22. If approved, it would be the first commercial flight for Qantas between Australia and India in almost a decade, reports Xinhua news agency. The flights would initially operate until at least late March 2022, with a view to continuing if there is sufficient demand. Flights from Sydney to Delhi would operate via Darwin, while flights from Delhi to Sydney would operate non-stop. The new route is among an array of movements as Qantas and Jetstar gear up for accelerated border opening.

Qantas flights between Sydney to Singapore will resume on November 23 this year, four weeks earlier than scheduled, operating three days per week. Jetstar will fly from Melbourne and Darwin to Singapore from December 16 this year. Qantas flights between Sydney to Fiji will be brought forward to December 7 with four return flights a week. Jetstar flights to Fiji will resume on December 17. Flights from Sydney to Johannesburg will resume on January 5, 2022, three months earlier than scheduled with three return flights a week. Flights from Sydney to Bangkok will resume on January 14, 2022, more than two months earlier than scheduled with five return flights a week. Jetstar will also resume flights from Sydney to Phuket on January 12, 2022, more than two months earlier than scheduled with three return flights a week. Flights to Honolulu, Vancouver,

Tokyo and New Zealand are still scheduled to commence from mid-December this year, with other destinations to restart in the new year. Due to the current border policy, all these flights are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents, but Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said he expects tourists from Singapore, South Africa and India to take advantage of these flights once borders reopen to international visitors. He also hailed the scrapping of hotel quarantine for arriving international travellers by the state of New South Wales (NSW). "The decision by the NSW government to join many cities from around the world by removing quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers means we're able to add these flights from Sydney much earlier than we would have otherwise," said Joyce. For domestic routes, Qantas and Jetstar are also preparing to ramp up capacity between Melbourne and Sydney as quarantine-free travel is set to resume between Australia's two largest cities.

NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA

Australia hits 70% Covid vaccination target Canberra, October 21 (IANS): Australia's Covid-19 vaccine rollout has hit a major milestone, with 70 per cent of the adult population fully inoculated against the virus, Minister of Health Greg Hunt said.

Hunt said that more than 70 percent of Australians aged 16 and over have received two vaccine doses so far, reports Xinhua news agency. It means the national vaccination rate has now reached the target set by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to begin the roadmap out of the pandemic. Hunt said the milestone was a major testament to Australians. "I can officially confirm that Australia has now passed the 70 per cent double-dosed

vaccination rate for the 16-plus population," he told reporters in Canberra.

"It's a memorable number, but it's memorable above all else because it represents the movement at a national level to phase B of our national roadmap," which was revealed by Morrison in July, Hunt added. It also marks the beginning of preparations for booster shots, with aged care residents set to have priority access, according to Hunt. As the country is still grappling to contain the third wave of the pandemic, the total Covid-19 caseload and death toll stood at 152,024 and 1,590, as of October 21 morning.

Covid curbs eased in Aus capital as vax rate hits 80%

TOI

With all these decisions, the group's 22,000 employees, who were stood down in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be able to return to work in December. "This is the best news we've had in almost two years and it will make a massive difference to thousands of our people who finally get to fly again," Joyce said.

Aus secures access to 2 more Covid treatments amid 3rd wave IANS

of 2021, we've very heavily relied on those non-pharmaceutical interventions -- the public health and social measures including lockdowns," he told reporters on Sunday. "There are ways of preventing the illness, and absolutely the first way and the most important way for that is vaccination," he said.

Canberra, October 18 (IANS): The Australian government has secured access to two additional Covid-19 treatments as the country continues to battle against the third wave of the pandemic, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced. Hunt said the government has purchased 15,000 doses of the antibody-based therapy, Ronapreve, which can be administered intravenously for Covid-19 patients in a health care facility and is expected to be targeted for use in unvaccinated people who are at risk of developing severe disease, reports Xinhua news agency. If approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Ronapreve will be available to

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Australian patients soon. Clinical trials have shown it can reduce the likelihood of hospitalisation and death among Covid-19 patients by up to 70 per cent, according to the media release on October 17. The government has also secured access to 500,000 treatment courses of Pfizer's Covid-19 oral antiviral drug, to be used in combination with the protease inhibitor drug Ritonavir, subject to regulatory approval by the TGA. Paul Kelly, Australia's Chief Medical Officer, said adding treatments to the National Medical Stockpile was necessary as the country opens up and learns to live with the virus. "During 2020 and for a large part

"But there are now treatments that are being developed, antiviral treatments that will actually assist to prevent infection, or prevent even mild or asymptomatic infection and disease." Kelly also announced that quarantine-free travel from New Zealand's South Island to Australia will resume shortly. Recently, Australia reported more than 2,100 new locally-acquired Covid-19 cases and 17 deaths, which took the overall infection tally and fatality toll to 145,314 and 1,543, respectively. Till date, 84.6 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have received one coronavirus vaccine dose and 67.8 percent were fully inoculated, according to the latest data released by the Department of Health.

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Canberra, October 22 (IANS): Coronavirus restrictions in the Australian capital will be further eased after it reached the 80 per cent vaccine milestone, authorities said on October 19. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) became the country's first jurisdiction to hit 80 percent double-dose vaccination coverage among those aged above 12, reports Xinhua news agency. As a result, non-essential retail in Canberra was allowed to open on October 21 for the first time since August 12 in a major boost for the ACT's economy. "Reaching the 80 per cent milestone is a significant achievement," the ACT government said in a statement on October 19. "Canberrans should be really proud of how our community has worked together and given us the best opportunity to manage the expected increase in cases as the nation starts to reopen. "We are now well on our way to having close to 99 per cent of the eligible population

fully vaccinated by the end of November," the statement added. Under further changes to the ACT's reopening roadmap, hospitality venues will be allowed to have up to 300 patrons within the next few days and face masks will no longer be mandatory outdoors. Quarantine-free travel between the ACT and New South Wales (NSW) will resume from November 1. "This means that ACT residents will not have quarantine when they return to the territory from any part of NSW, including Greater Sydney," ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said. On October 19 morning, 2,046 new cases and 15 deaths were reported in Australia as the country continues to battle the third wave of infections. So far, about 84.8 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over had received one coronavirus vaccine dose and 68.3 percent were fully inoculated, according to the latest data released by the Department of Health.

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Articles inside

India News, IAIE and AIBC organize sports networking event at the Metricon Stadium

2min
page 33

MAKE IN INDIA: Bonded Manufacturing

8min
page 27

Chasing CECA: Australia and India now mean business

7min
page 25

China’s assertiveness brings India and Australia closer

4min
page 24

Stronger business and trade ties will shape Aus-India strategic partnership

3min
page 24

WORLD THIS WEEK

8min
page 23

MHFA Gala Dinner wraps up National Mental Health Month

1min
page 20

Indian community youth leader Srihan Misra shines in the Parliament

5min
page 18

Lord Mayor's Multicultural Awards for Business announced

2min
page 15

MCCGC hosts 'International Cafe'

1min
page 13

Indian Community Centre inaugurated in Western Australia

1min
page 13

GOPIO organises India Day Fair

1min
page 12

HOTA hosts Gold Coast Diwali

1min
page 12

Bengali Society of Queensland organises Durga Puja in Brisbane

1min
page 12

MOSAIC Multicultural Festival held in Brisbane

1min
page 11

Bowen Rail on track for first coal delivery

1min
page 5
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