The government today forbade flights from the United Kingdom until 31 December for a new rapidly spreading coronavirus strain in that region. The ban will begin on Wednesday, and all travellers coming from the United Kingdom will be checked on arrival at airports.
“Considering the prevailing situation in UK, the government of India has decided that all flights originating from UK to India to be suspended till 31st December,” said the aviation ministry.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the current version had an exceptionally high number of genetic variations and calls for improved epidemiological testing, enhanced containment and other steps to resolve the problem effectively.
“India has been seeing a sustained decline in the number of fresh Covid-19 cases for over two months now, accompanied by a decline in the number of deaths. In this scenario, any interjection of a SARS-CoV-2 variant virus through passengers with air travel history could pose critical risks for pandemic management in India,” he said
Passengers arriving from Britain before midnight tomorrow would be subject to RT-PCR checks at the airport. Those that test positive will be sent to institutional quarantine, while the remainder will be asked to insulate themselves for seven days.
Canada, Saudi Arabia, and other European countries have suspended flights from the United Kingdom over the current virus, which is estimated to be 70 per cent more contagious. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock says, “the new variant is out of control”
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government was fully alert about the new strain and stressed “there’s no need to panic”.