NEW DELHI: India has decided to suspend all inbound flights from the UK following the emergence of a new highly virulent strain of the SARS-COV2 virus that causes Covid.
The decision followed an expert meeting of the Health Ministry’s joint monitoring group which reasoned for abundant caution as the new strain is under review.
The JMG met on Monday to study evidence from the UK which said the bee strain was out of the country and was 70 per cent more infectious than the original.
“Considering the prevailing situation in the UK. Govt of India has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India to be suspended till December 31 (23.59 hours),” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
The ministry said the suspension would start from 23.59 hours, December 22.
Consequently flights from India to UK shall stand temporarily suspended during the above said period.
The government has further decided that as a measure of abundant precaution, passengers arriving from the UK in all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights which are reaching India before December 22 at 23.59 hrs) should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival at the airports concerned.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry will study the bee strain and issue guidance accordingly.