Suspensions of two international flights extended
The suspensions of two international flights to Shanghai imposed after several passengers tested positive for COVID-19 have been extended for a week from Monday, China's civil aviation authority said.
China Eastern's Flight MU212 from Manila and Juneyao Airlines' Flight HO1606 from Singapore were suspended earlier this month by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Both carriers are based in Shanghai.
The China Eastern flight has been suspended since August 17. Six passengers tested positive on arrival at the Pudong International Airport on an August 5 flight and nine tested positive on another flight on August 12. Flights were suspended on August 17.
Juneyao Flight HO1606 from Singapore was suspended after eight passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on August 15.
Previously, Etihad Airways' flight EY862 from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai was suspended for one week from August 17, while SriLankan Airlines' UL866 from Colombo to Shanghai was halted for four weeks from August 17 after 23 passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on August 7.
According to CAAC policy, if all inbound passengers on an airline test negative for the novel coronavirus for three weeks in a row, the airline will be allowed to increase its number of flights to two per week.
If the number of passengers testing positive reaches five, the airline's flights will be suspended for a week. The suspension will last for four weeks if the number of passengers testing positive reaches 10.
Over 10 flights have been suspended since the policy was introduced on June 4 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The city reported five more imported novel coronavirus cases on Sunday, while 10 patients were discharged from hospital.
So far, of all the 538 imported cases, 461 have been discharged and 77 are still hospitalized. Two imported suspected cases are undergoing further tests.
