The United Kingdom’s latest Covid-19 travel update for some countries, including India, was amended on Wednesday, shifting it from the ‘red’ to the ‘amber’ list with effect from August 8.
In a statement, the British High Commission in New Delhi said, “The UK government has announced an update to the ‘Red-Amber-Green’ traffic light ratings for arrivals into England. From 4am (BST) on Sunday 8 August, India will move from the red to the amber list.”
Aside from India, Bahrain, Georgia, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, as well as the French overseas territories of Reunion and Mayotte, have been added to the ‘amber’ list.
Passengers from countries on the amber list must take a Covid-19 test before and after arriving in England, according to regulatory requirements.
“You must take the test in the 3 days before you travel to England. On your arrival in England, you must: quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days. Also, you must take a Covid-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8,” it said.
“We are committed to opening up international travel safely, taking advantage of the gains we’ve made through our successful vaccination programme, helping connect families, friends and businesses around the world. While we must continue to be cautious, today’s changes reopen a range of different holiday destinations across the globe, which is good news for both the sector and travelling public,” UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
Travelers who are either “fully vaccinated in the UK or under the UK vaccine programme overseas,” or “under 18 on the day you arrive in England and resident in the UK or in a country with a vaccination programme approved by the UK part of a UK-approved vaccine trial,” do not need to quarantine or take a day 8 test after arriving in England.
As the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak hit the South Asian country in April, the UK government put India to its’red’ list. The’red’ list prohibits travel and requires returning British residents to stay in a hotel for a minimum of 10 days.
Despite the fact that the Delta variant, which was initially found in India, remains the dominant variant in the UK, leading to a massive increase in cases, the UK government has decided to move India from ‘red’ to ‘amber.’
Over 59 lakh Covid-19 cases have been detected in the UK, with around 30,000 new cases recorded on Wednesday. A total of 130,000 people have died in the country.
– India’s new age travel digital media
