A disaster response force team member sprays disinfectant during a public curfew at the old city of Hyderabad, India, March 22, 2020. (Stringer/Xinhua)

 
Amid COVID-19 concerns, the Indian government has announced that it would suspend the domestic flights from Wednesday.

"The operations of domestic schedule commercial airlines shall cease operations with effect from the midnight 23:59 (local time) IST on March. 24, 2020," says a statement issued by the federal ministry of civil aviation. "Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 23:59 hours on March 24, 2020."

However, the restrictions shall not apply to solely cargo carrying flights, the directive said.

International flights have already been banned for a week.

The government's announcement comes at a time when COVID-19 cases in the country have risen to 421. So far, seven people were killed because of COVID-19 in India.

Indian authorities imposed lockdown in 80 districts across states and territories of the country to contain the spread of COVID-19.