UK bans travellers entry, puts India on ‘red list’
LONDON: Britain on Monday added India to its COVID-19 travel “red list”, which effectively bans all travel from the country and makes a 10-day hotel quarantine compulsory for UK residents arriving back to the country.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the move in the House of Commons as he revealed that 103 cases of the so-called Indian variant had been identified in the UK, of which the “vast majority have links to international travel”. He said that samples of that variant have been analysed to see if the new variant has any “concerning characteristics”, such as greater transmissibility or resistance to treatments and vaccines.
Boris cancels India visit, to hold talks remotely
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cancelled his planned visit to India due to the coronavirus situation, Downing Street said. Johnson, who admitted it was “frustrating” but only sensible to call off the visit, will instead speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch their future plans.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cancelled his planned visit to India next week due to the coronavirus situation in the country, Downing Street said on Monday.
Johnson, who admitted it was “frustrating” but “only sensible” to call off the visit, will instead speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month to launch their plans for the future UK-India partnership, with their physical meeting expected later in the year. “Narendra Modi and I have basically come to the conclusion that, very sadly, I won’t be able to go ahead with the trip,” Johnson told reporters, during a visit to Gloucestershire soon after the Downing Street announcement.
“I do think it’s only sensible to postpone, given what’s happened in India, the shape of the pandemic there. Countries around the world including our own have been through this I think everybody’s got a massive amount of sympathy with India, what they’re going through,” he said. Asked if India would be added to the “red list” of countries, which imposes an effective travel ban and compulsory 10-day hotel quarantine for any returning UK residents, Johnson said that was “very much a matter for independent UK Health Security Agency they will have to take that decision”.
Last week, Public Health England (PHE) said that 77 cases of the so-called “double mutant” Indian variant have been detected in the UK since last month and that it has now been classed as a Variant Under Investigation (VUI) in the country. Pressure had been mounting on Johnson to call off the visit to India amid growing concerns over the new variant.
“In the light of the current situation, Boris Johnson will not be able to travel to India next week, Downing Street said in a joint statement on behalf of the British and Indian governments. Instead, both Prime Ministers will speak later this month to agree and launch their ambitious plans for future partnership between the UK and India. They will remain in regular contact beyond this,” the statement said.