The UK adds India to its travel ‘Red List’ countries after COVID-19 cases surge

The United Kingdom has added India to its travel ‘red list’ after a sudden spike in Coronavirus cases in the country. The British government has imposed strictest travel restrictions on India, soon after their Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his trip to New Delhi. The list also includes Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The new travel restrictions will come into effect on Friday, and all arrivals from India will be banned except for UK and Irish nationals. According to new rules, be it UK nationals or foreigners living in the UK, must pay a huge amount to quarantine at a government-approved hotel for 10 days on their return from the countries listed under ‘red list’.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament, “We’ve made the difficult but vital decision to add India to the red list.” He said that the government had to face criticism for holding off the decision, pending Johnson’s trip.

On Monday, the UK and Indian governments decided to cancel Johnson’s visit to India. The visit would have been Johnson’s first crucial foreign visit since he came to power in 2019.
The joint statement released by the two governments read, “In the light of the current coronavirus situation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not be able to travel to India next week.”

The health secretary also informed that a total 103 cases of the Indian variant have been identified in the UK till now.