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Australians onboard the government's first repatriation flight out of India have taken off on schedule and are now en-route to Darwin.

QF112 departed New Delhi at 20.05 Friday (00.35 Saturday AEST) from Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to the airport's live flight information.

The flight is set to land in the Northern Territory today at 9.20am (9.50am AEST) and passengers will spend quarantine at a facility in Howard Springs.

However, it's understood nearly half of the 150 passengers were not allowed on the plane due to COVID-19 test results.

READ MORE: Half of repatriation flight from India unable to board after COVID tests

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Of the planned passenger group, 72 were banned from the flight home to Australia after 48 tested positive for coronavirus.

The other 24 were family members of positive cases and deemed close contacts.

High Commissioner to India Barry O'Farrell said it was tragic for those who were set to be on Australian soil by tomorrow.

"This is a tragedy for them today, and equally for their families in Australia," Mr O'Farrell said.

"We're in the middle of a COVID crisis here in India and it takes 24 hours at least to get the results of a COVID test, so the likelihood of people quickly taking places on the plane is harder than it seems."

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Akriti Gupta from Melbourne is another passenger hoping to have her results cleared so she can board the plane.

"We are booked for the flight tonight and we are waiting for our COVID results," Ms Gupta told 9News.

"It's very heartbreaking because people here have already quarantined for three days in Delhi and have already said goodbye to their families."

The positive diagnoses means those Aussies will be stuck in India until they recover.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were working to fill the flight with more passengers but the 48-hour pre-flight testing proved an obstacle.

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Qantas flights heading to India to bring back Australian citizens have also been carrying vital supplies to the subcontinent, including ventilators and oxygen concentrators.

READ MORE: 'Your borders don't just one day open up': PM's travel hint

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said today's flight will bring the total number of repatriation flights from India to 39.

"These government-facilitated flights will be focused on returning Australian citizens, residents and families who have registered with our high Commission and consular offices within India and will prioritise the most vulnerable people," Ms Payne said.

The next government repatriation flight from India is expected to arrive in Darwin on May 23.

Arrangements for further facilitated flights into Australia are underway.

Japan is further expanding a coronavirus state of emergency to three additional areas ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

The state of emergency is currently in Tokyo and five other prefectures. The additions include Japan's northern island state of Hokkaido, where the Olympic marathon will be held, as well as Hiroshima and Okayama in western Japan.

Bars, karaoke parlours and most entertainment facilities are required to close. Business owners who comply will be compensated; those who don't could face fines.

The expansion of the state of emergency is a major shift from the government's initial plan that relied on less stringent measures.

Japan has been struggling to slow coronavirus infections ahead of the postponed Olympics, which are scheduled to start July 23.

The news comes as an online petition with more than 350,000 signatures calling for the Tokyo Games to be cancelled was submitted Friday to local organisers, the International Olympic Committee and others.

The Olympics are scheduled to open in just 10 weeks on July 23 in the midst of a pandemic with Tokyo and other areas under a state of emergency. Cases continue to rise in Japan, where less than 2 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.

The petition campaign — called "Stop Tokyo Olympics" — was drafted by well-known lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya, who has also run for governor of Tokyo. He said the response was surprising but acknowledged that this was too little, and probably too late.

"I think that the media coverage puts a lot of pressure on the IOC, the International Paralympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the organising committee," Utsunomiya said at a news conference.

"So in that sense, I am glad I did it. However, in terms of the numbers, I think that tens of millions of signatures are really necessary."

Utsunomiya said the Olympics would divert medical services from the general public, which has been a rising concern as hospitals come under strains that could get worse as the games approach.

Organisers and the IOC say they will hold the games safely, isolating 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes in a "bubble" and repeatedly testing them and the tens of thousands of others — judges, staff, sponsors, media and broadcasters — who will enter a country that has had its borders sealed for a year.

Japan has attributed about 11,000 deaths to COVID-19, good by world standards but poor in Asia where places like Taiwan and South Korea have been more successful.

There in no indication the Olympics will be cancelled with billions of dollars riding on it, although there has been opposition from the local medical community.

Last month, the British Medical Journal suggested the games be "reconsidered."

Pope Francis has appointed Msgr Anthony Ireland and Fr Martin Ashe auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The announcement this evening came from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, confirming the Pope's appointments.

Msgr Ireland and Fr Ashe will support Melbourne Archbishop Peter A. Comensoli in his leadership of the Archdiocese, along with current Auxiliary Bishop Terry Curtin.

READ MORE: 'Nonsense' rule requiring residents to display QR code outside their homes

Msgr Ireland and Fr Ashe have held a number of significant roles within the Archdiocese of Melbourne, including in parishes and at Corpus Christi Seminary, as well as other leadership positions.

Msgr Ireland, who was born and raised in Melbourne, has been part of the church for 34 years, since his ordination in 1987.

"I accept this appointment from the Holy Father with the hope that I can keep a positive balance and attitude whilst continually trusting in the Lord Jesus who promised to accompany us until the end of time," he said in a statement of his appointment.

READ MORE: Pope Francis arrives in Iraq for first papal visit

"The ministry of auxiliary bishop comes with no agenda. It is a ministry of humility; I am to closely assist Archbishop Comensoli in his mission as Chief Shepherd in Melbourne."

Fr Ashe, who was born in Ireland, was ordained in 1978 in Dublin before moving to Melbourne in September that year.

"In this time of pandemic, I see our Church as being a Catholic community in the world that reaches out and accompanies individuals and families, staying close to them in their need and bringing Christ's message of hope and sustaining love into their lives," Fr Ashe said in the statement of his appointment.

The Episcopal Ordination is expected to take place at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne towards the end of July.