Travelers pass through Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport, amid the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London, UK, February 14, 2021. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls // File Photo
Britain’s Heathrow Airport has refused to allow additional flights from India before the country is added to the UK’s “red list” of places where most travel is banned on Friday due to a large number of COVID-19 cases, the airport said on Wednesday.
Britain’s move comes after it detected more than 100 cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India, Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Monday. Read more
“We have made the difficult but vital decision to add India to the Red List. This means that anyone who is not a resident of the UK or Ireland or is not a British citizen cannot enter the UK if they have been in India for the past 10 days, ”Hancock had told parliament.
Heathrow Airport’s refusal to allow additional flights from India was previously reported by the BBC, with the airport adding that it had rejected airlines’ requests due to concerns about queues at passport control.
The airport also told Reuters that it did not want to exacerbate existing border pressures, allowing more passengers to fly.
India is now facing a coronavirus “storm” that overwhelms its health care system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national address on Tuesday, with the world’s second most populous nation reporting 295,041 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday. higher daily growth reported in any country stretching its hospitals to the point of rupture. Read more
The 2,023 deaths in India in one day were also the largest in the pandemic.
At least 24 patients with COVID-19 in western India died on Wednesday when their ventilators were depleted, amid a nationwide gas shortage and rising infections.
Health experts said India dropped its guard when the virus appeared to be under control in the winter, allowing large gatherings such as weddings and festivals.
Modi himself faces criticism for approaching crowded political rallies for local elections and allowing a religious festival to go ahead in which millions have gathered.
Our standards: Thomson Reuters’ principles of trust.