Canada closely looking at UK move to place India on ‘red list’
TORONTO: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that his government is “looking very carefully” at the UK’s decision to place India on a travel “red list” as the country faces an alarming wave of Covid-19 infections.
Britain announced on Monday that it was adding India on its “red list”, meaning only UK residents and citizens will be allowed back into the country from India and will have to undergo mandatory 10-day quarantine at a hotel.
The UK has not prohibited direct flights from India.
Canada has taken no decision yet, but the matter is being look at, as Trudeau said on Tuesday. “I’ve asked our officials to look very carefully at what for example the UK has done in suspending flights from India, what more can and should be done to ensure we are not getting cases in from overseas,” he told reporters.
Flights are currently operating between India and Canada almost on a daily basis under an air bubble arrangement between the two countries.
They are operated by Air Canada and Air India and connect New Delhi to the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver.
Canada has already instituted additional measures since January, including the requirement of a negative RT-PCR test before boarding a flight and a test on arrival in Canada, with passengers having to remain at a designated hotel at their cost, till the results arrive.
According to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Covid-19 cases have been reported on 28 flights from India this month.