“Taking into account the prevailing situation in the UK, the Government of India has decided that all flights from the UK to India will be temporarily suspended until 11:59 PM on December 31st. suspension will begin before 11:59 pm on December 22, “said the Ministry of Civil Aviation Tweeted.
Furthermore, the ministry also added that as a precautionary measure, passengers arriving from the UK on all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights arriving in India before December 22 at 11:59 p.m.) must be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test. upon arrival at the corresponding airports.
Earlier today, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured citizens about fears of the new strain of coronavirus in the UK. He said the government is alert and there is no need to panic.
Furthermore, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had expressed concern over the rapid spread of the new variant of the virus in Britain and had urged the Center to ban all flights from the UK immediately.
Countries around the world have started banning flights and travelers from Britain, as London said on Sunday that the spread of a new, more infectious strain of coronavirus was now “out of control.”
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Bulgaria announced travel restrictions to the UK, hours after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Christmas shopping and gatherings in southern England should be canceled due to the rapid spread of infections attributed to the new variant of coronavirus.
Johnson said on Saturday that a new, fast-moving variant of the virus that is 70 percent more transmissible than existing strains appeared to be driving the rapid spread of new infections in London and southern England in recent weeks. But he stressed that “there is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes more serious disease,” or that vaccines will be less effective against it.
Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting Monday to discuss international travel, particularly the flow of cargo in and out of Britain. EU officials must hold a meeting at 1000 GMT to coordinate their response.
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