Britain will add India to its “red list” of trips on Friday after detecting 103 cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in the country, Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Monday.
“We have made the difficult but vital decision to add India to the Red List. This means that anyone who is not resident in the UK or Irish or British citizen cannot enter the UK if they have been to India. the previous ten days, “Hancock told parliament.
“British and Irish residents and British nationals who have been in India for the last 10 days prior to arrival will be required to complete hotel quarantine within 10 days of arrival.”
The rules go into effect at 4 a.m. local time (3:00 GMT) on Friday, Hancock added.
The move was taken as a precaution while evaluating the variant first identified in India. Asked whether vaccines deployed in Britain worked against the variant, Hancock said he could not give that guarantee, but sought to establish an answer as soon as possible.
“The core of my concern about the variant first found in India is that vaccines may be less effective in terms of transmission and / or in terms of reducing hospitalization and death,” he said.
“It’s the same concern we have with the variant that is first found in South Africa and it’s the fundamental reason we made the decision today.”
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