Modi govt bans air-lifting of patients as some lockdown curbs intensify

Doctors and paramedics are seen demonstrating the rescue of a road accident victim through air ambulance in Mumbai (Representational Image)| Getty Images via Bloomberg

New Delhi: India has banned use of air ambulances and other medical evacuations unless the treatment required is not available locally, as a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus is extended, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Planes carrying patients will only be allowed to fly if local authorities determine treatment isn’t available at the point of origin, and the civil aviation ministry and the aviation regulator must give specific permission for that particular flight to operate, the people said, asking not to be identified as the order isn’t public. Approvals can be obtained electronically, but the condition of the patient needs to be deemed “serious,” they said.

India’s federal government will allow medical flights if state governments ask for them, one person said. The government is also reviewing the guidelines to see if further relaxations can be made, the person said.

Modi on Tuesday extended an existing 21-day nationwide lockdown until May 3, as the number of virus infections and deaths continues to rise. On Sunday, India had reported 16,365 cases and 521 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Infectious diseases experts say the true number of infections is likely much higher given that the Indian Council of Medical Research said the country has tested just 372,123 samples from its 1.3 billion citizens. That’s about 0.03%.

The government has already banned all domestic and international commercial flights, and asked airlines not to take bookings before lockdown-related curbs are lifted. India’s health-care infrastructure is widely criticized as inadequate and treatment often isn’t reliable even if local doctors are qualified to attend to patients, leading to a surge in air ambulances among the more affluent.

Thousands of patients from overseas, including from the U.S. and war-torn Afghanistan, visit India every year looking for cheaper health-care alternatives at its private hospitals. These hospitals often have tie ups with air ambulance companies to transport them. The market was expected to be worth 9 billion dollars this year, according to a report from industry body FICCI last year. –Bloomberg