India withdraws mandatory quarantine for vaccinated UK travellers

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Oct 13, 2021: The Union government in India on Wednesday, October 12, withdrew a travel advisory that mandated quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers coming from the United Kingdom. This comes a few days after the British government ordered discontinuation of mandatory testing and quarantine norms for those vaccinated with Covishield travelling from India. In an official memorandum issued on October 11, the health ministry said that based on the evolving scenario, it has been decided that the revised guidelines stand withdrawn and the earlier guidelines on international arrival issued on February 17 shall be applicable to all travellers arriving in India from the UK.

 

Earlier this month, India had said that all British nationals arriving in India from the UK will have to undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. India had made this announcement after the UK recognised Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India but retained the 10-day quarantine period for fully vaccinated travellers from India.

Then, last week, the UK government added India to its vaccine-eligible countries list for Covishield, which would mean fully vaccinated Indians will no longer be required to quarantine on arrival in Britain from October 11.  Eligible travellers vaccinated in over 37 new countries, including India and Pakistan, will be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents, so long as they have not visited a red list country or territory in the 10 days before arriving in England, the Department for Transport said. Those arriving before the cut off date of October 11 would still need to follow the rules for unvaccinated travellers.

The UK had further opened up international travel and will recognise India’s vaccine certification system from October 11. The decision was taken after close technical cooperation between our ministries taking public health factors into account, a spokesperson for the British High Commission in New Delhi said.

Courtesy:The News Minute