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India supends all flights coming from Iran amid coronavirus scare: DGCA

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Feb 27, 2020, 10:56 PM IST
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File photo. Photograph:(Reuters)

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Mahan Air and Iran Air are the only airlines which operate from Iran to Indian cities.

As the coronavirus spread appeared to accelerate in Iran, India cancelled all flights coming from the Islamic Republic, Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Thursday.

Mahan Air and Iran Air are the only airlines which operate from Iran to Indian cities.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan announced the suspension of all flights to and from Iran, the Middle Eastern country which has reported the most fatalities from novel coronavirus.

The suspension will come into force from the midnight of February 27 and will remain in place till further orders, Pakistan`s Aviation Division said.

The health ministry on Thursday confirmed seven new deaths due to the deadly virus in over 24 hours. While over 245 have been infected.

It is the highest number of coronavirus infected cases outside China where COVID-19 originated.

Over 81,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 2,760 have died, a World Health Organisation report said on Wednesday.

In the UN body's latest count, more than 40 people have died outside mainland China since the start of the epidemic, out of more than 2,900 people infected.

The toll rises to more than 60 if the most recent deaths are included from certain countries, which are not yet accounted for in the updated WHO report.

The number of deaths in China, where the virus was first detected, has declined, with 29 in the past 24 hours, the lowest count in nearly a month.

The coronavirus has appeared in nine new countries, Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Norway, Northern Macedonia, Pakistan and Romania, bringing the number of countries hit to more than 45.