Passengers from UK arriving earlier than midnight tomorrow must take an RT-PCR take a look at at airports.
New Delhi:
Flights to and from the UK have been banned until December 31 over a brand new fast-spreading pressure of the coronavirus in that nation, the federal government mentioned as we speak as a number of nations introduced comparable strikes.
“Contemplating the prevailing state of affairs in UK, the federal government of India has determined that each one flights originating from UK to India to be suspended until thirty first December,” mentioned aviation regulator Directorate Common of Civil Aviation. “Consequently flights from India to UK shall stand quickly suspended throughout above mentioned interval.”
The ban will come into impact on Wednesday and all passengers arriving from the UK earlier than then can be examined on arrival at airports.
A joint monitoring group on COVID-19 had met this morning to debate the mutant coronavirus that has unfold quickly within the UK, sending circumstances rocketing inside days.
Canada, Saudi Arabia, and several other European nations have suspended flights from the UK over the brand new pressure, believed to be 70 per cent extra infectious.
A lot is unknown concerning the pressure, however consultants say present vaccines ought to nonetheless be efficient in opposition to it.
Well being Minister Harsh Vardhan mentioned the federal government was totally alert concerning the new pressure and confused “there is not any have to panic”.
There had been calls to ban flights from the UK since yesterday. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted this morning: “New mutation of corona virus has emerged in UK, which is a super-spreader. I urge central authorities to ban all flights from UK instantly.”
The UK is one in every of 23 nations that India shares an “air bubble” with. India, which has the second-highest variety of circumstances after the US, doesn’t at present mandate institutional quarantine for worldwide travellers if they’ve a detrimental COVID-19 take a look at outcome 72 hours earlier than getting into the nation.
The mutant virus was first detected in southeast England in September. It’s shortly changing into the dominant pressure in London and different components of the UK, and has led to surging an infection numbers and hardest ranges of restrictions on some 18 million Britons.
On Sunday, British Well being Secretary Matt Hancock mentioned “the brand new variant is uncontrolled”.
Italy has reported a affected person who had just lately returned from the UK, contaminated with the mutant virus.
The brand new pressure has fearful well being consultants at a time when a number of nations, together with the UK and america, have cleared Covid vaccines to spice up their combat amid pandemic.
European Union consultants consider current vaccines in opposition to coronavirus are efficient in opposition to the brand new pressure.
India’s coronavirus circumstances handed the 1-crore mark on Saturday; 24,337 new circumstances within the final 24 hours took the tally to 1,00,55,560, the federal government information confirmed this morning. Over 1.45 lakh folks have died to date.
Worldwide, over 7.68 crore circumstances have been reported to date; 16.9 lakh folks have died.