The UK government added India to its list of travel bans, amid cases of coronaviruses being fired in the country and the emergence of a new variant that scientists fear may be partly resistant to vaccines.
Under the new rules coming into force on Friday at 4am, British time, anyone who is not a British or Irish citizen or has British residence rights will be denied entry to Britain if they have been in India the last ten days.
The ban is necessary to “protect the progress we have made in this country in the fight against this terrible disease,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons on Monday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously canceled a visit to India scheduled for next week, during which he was to meet with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Coronavirus cases affected one record in India over the weekend, fueled by the emergence of a new variant.
Under investigation
Hancock said so far health authorities had identified 103 cases of the variant in the UK, the “vast majority” related to international travel. Showing samples analysisd for any “relative characteristic,” he said.
Researchers are investigating the degree of transmission of the variant, as well as its potential ability to elude vaccines. Officials still call it a “variant under investigation” rather than a “worrying one”, and overvoltage tests are being conducted in the UK to try to contain its spread.
Asked if the vaccines were effective against the new variant, Hancock told MPs, “We just don’t know. We’re acting as a precaution.” He said the main concern is that “vaccines may be less effective in terms of transmission and / or in terms of reducing hospitalization and death.”
India is one of the world’s largest air travel markets and has strong ties to the UK population dating back to the British colonial era. Until recently, the South Asian country had held up well by keeping infection rates low.
Overvoltage case
It now has the fastest-growing number of Covid-19 cases in the world, totaling 273,810 new infections and 1,619 deaths on Monday, leaving it in the United States alone in terms of total numbers.
“India is a country I know well and love,” Hancock said. “Between our two countries we have bonds of friendship and family. I understand the impact of this decision, but I do hope the House will agree that we must act. “
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Adding India to the so-called red list means that any British citizen returning to the UK will have to put a quarantine on government-approved hotel for 10 days, which can cost up to £ 1,750 ($ 2,450).
The UK decision follows a similar Hong Kong action, which banned flights from India for 14 days from April 20 after dozens of New Delhi passengers tested positive for Covid-19 in Hong Kong. , the Press Trust of India reported Saturday.
Currently, operators such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., Air India and Vistara of India operate services between cities in India and the United Kingdom.
Red list
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brazil, South Africa and the Philippines are, among other countries, on the UK red list. Although travel from the UK is currently banned for most people until at least May 17 under the country’s blockade rules, flights have continued to operate for those exempt from the rules.
Earlier Monday, Johnson told television he was “sensible” to postpone his trip to India given the shape of the pandemic there. ” Group of Seven in the UK in June.
While Johnson’s predecessor, former Prime Minister David Cameron, pursued a strategy of increasing trade ties with both India and China, relations with Beijing have worsened in recent months, placing diplomacy with New Delhi at the heart of Britain’s plans.
(Updates with Hancock’s comment in the seventh paragraph)