Forums Dancehall Reggae Covid 19 coronavirus: How a New Zealand citizen escaped Covid-ravaged India

Posted May 3, 2021 10:37 AM

Pushpinder Singh is thanking his lucky stars for taking advantage of a small window to leave Covid-ravaged India and fly to New Zealand.

As a New Zealand citizen, Indian-born Singh was able to board a flight in New Delhi on May 1, three days after the New Zealand Government lifted a ban on returning citizens from high-risk countries like India.

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From there he flew to San Francisco and on to Los Angeles for a connecting flight to Auckland before the United States closes its borders to India tomorrow.

The flight, which took nearly three days and cost about $6000, was the only way to return home to Auckland after his return flight via Dubai on Emirates was cancelled when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) closed its borders to India.

Singh said the window to leave India was very small, very high risk and very expensive, saying the route between India and New Zealand is now closed.

As India nears 20 million cases of Covid-19 with thousands of deaths a day, Singh was concerned about leaving his parents in New Delhi and gave them instructions not to go outside.

It is very dangerous. It seems like the Covid has come through airborne over there. It's a very horrible situation at the moment," he said.

What was planned as a two-week trip to visit his grandmother who was seriously ill and died on April 18, turned into a nightmare for the 30-year-old, who works installing and monitoring fire alarms in Auckland.

He contacted the airline Emirates and was told of the New Zealand travel ban from India, but when that ban was lifted, the UAE extended a ban on India and his flight home was cancelled. He could not get a refund.

"I was panicking and stressing out because there was no plan for me to stay in India for a long period. I had a commitment with my job, a mortgage, bills and everything," he said.
ingh said he then discovered the only country accepting New Zealand citizens was the US and went with the option even though the flights were "super expensive" at between $6000 and $7000.

All up, Singh said the round trip to see his grandmother and parents cost about $10,000 and took about three days on the home leg, including a day between flights in Los Angeles.

The Covid-19 situation in India is grim. More than 3500 people died yesterday - a new record - with daily cases topping 300,000 for 10 days straight.

Hospitals are overwhelmed and there is a dire shortage of oxygen and other medical supplies.

During the weekend a desperate plea was made on the New Zealand High Commission's social media asking for oxygen canisters.

It was directed not at the Indian Government but at the youth wing of the main opposition party - the Indian Youth Congress.

Former National Party MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi said, for many Indians, this was insulting.

"They feel that this is not acceptable. Whatever has happened is it is unfortunate and people are really upset."

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