Travelers walk through Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 amid the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London, UK, on February 14, 2021. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls // File Photo
British Heathrow Airport has refused to allow additional flights from India before the country is added to the British “red list” of places from which most travel is banned due to a high number of cases COVID-19, said this Wednesday the airport.
Britain’s measure comes after it detected more than 100 cases of a variant of the coronavirus first identified in India, Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Monday. Read more
“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 had told parliament.
The BBC previously reported Heathrow Airport’s refusal to allow additional flights from India, adding that it rejected applications from airlines due to concerns about passport control queues. .
The airport also told Reuters that it did not want to exacerbate existing pressures at the border as it allowed more passengers to enter.
India now faces a coronavirus “storm” that overwhelms its health care system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national speech on Tuesday, with the world’s second most populous nation reporting 295,041 new infections on Wednesday. by coronavirus, the largest daily rise recorded in any country. stretching their hospitals to the breaking point. Read more
India’s 2,023 deaths in one day were also the highest in the pandemic.
At least 24 COVID-19 patients in western India died on Wednesday when the supply of oxygen to their ventilators ended, amid a nationwide gas shortage and an increase in infections.
Health experts said India had lowered its guard when the virus appeared to be under control during the winter, allowing for large gatherings such as weddings and festivals.
Modi himself faces criticism for addressing massive political rallies for local elections and allowing a religious festival to take place where millions gathered.
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