All British citizens arriving in India from Monday will face a compulsory 10-day quarantine no matter vaccination status, sources within the government have told NDTV, during a reciprocal measure over the UK’s hugely controversial similar rules for residents of several countries including India.
“From October 4, all UK nationals arriving in India from the united kingdom, regardless of their vaccination status, will must undertake three COVID-19 RT-PCR tests – within 72 hours before travel, on arrival at the airport, and on Day 8 after arrival, and mandatory quarantine reception or within the destination address for 10 days after arrival in India,” sources said.
Described as discriminatory and even “colonialist”, the united kingdom government has faced intense backlash over its refusal to recognise visitors as vaccinated unless they received their shots in an exceedingly few select countries.
Under travel rules unveiled last month, fully dosed arrivals from several nations are being allowed to enter England without quarantine starting October 4. But vaccinated people from vast swathes of the planet still face tougher restrictions, including a 10-day home isolation period.
India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla called the principles “discriminatory” and warned that “reciprocal action” could also be warranted.
The UK adjusted its policy to incorporate the Covishield shot widely utilized in India as an approved vaccine, but India still isn’t on the list of acceptable places to receive a dose. As a result, those who received Covishield within the UK count as vaccinated, while those that got it in India don’t.
British officials told NDTV last week that the difficulty wasn’t the vaccine itself but the problems with India’s “vaccination certification” process and also the two sides announced “progress” in recognising each other’s certificates after high-level talks.
Dr RS Sharma, CEO of India’s National Health Authority said certification after coronavirus vaccinations in India may be a centralised national system managed through the CoWIN app and portal and there are “no issues” with the platform which is entirely compliant with World Health Organisation standards.
