Britain will add India to the “red list” of travel on Friday, after detecting 103 cases of a variant of coronavirus identified for the first time in the country, said on Monday the health minister Matt Hancock.
“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 told parliament.
“British and Irish residents and British citizens who have been in India for the last 10 days before their arrival will have to complete a hotel quarantine within 10 days of arrival.”
The rules take effect at 4:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Friday, Hancock added.
The move was taken as a precaution while evaluating the variant first identified in India. Asked if vaccines launched in the UK work against the variant, Hancock said he could not provide that assurance, but sought to establish an answer as soon as possible.
“The core of my concern about the variant first found in India is that vaccines may be less effective in terms of transmission and / or in terms of reducing hospitalization and death,” he said.
“It is the same concern we have with the variant found for the first time in South Africa and it is the main reason why we made the decision today.”
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