UK started it, now India is giving a befitting response. Travellers from several countries who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine are allowed into the UK without having to quarantine if they meet certain conditions, but not Indians. This triggered a row between the two countries and now the Indian government is imposing reciprocity on UK nationals arriving in India from the UK, sources have revealed on Friday.
The Centre has decided to impose new regulations that will affect all UK nationals arriving in India from October 4, 2021. The new reciprocal guidelines will be the same for all UK nationals arriving in India irrespective of their vaccination status.
New regulations for UK nationals arriving in India
- Pre-departure COVID-19 RT PCR test not older than 72 hours
- COVID-19 RT-PCR test on arrival at airport
- COVID-19 RT-PCR test on Day 8 after arrival
- Mandatory quarantine at home or in the destination address for 10 days after arrival
Official notification is likely to be issued soon. The Health Ministry and Ministry of Civil Aviation would take necessary steps to implement the new measures, government sources have revealed.
What is India reciprocating?
The UK government unveiled new rules last month, which treated Indians who have received two shots of the Covishield jab as unvaccinated. As a result, Indian travellers had to undergo mandatory quarantine for 10 days. This is despite the fact that both countries use the same AstraZeneca vaccine developed by Oxford University.
The move triggered a backlash and even India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar raised with the UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss her country's rules that require vaccinated Indian travellers to be quarantined and urged an early resolution of the issue.
In response to its vaccine racism, the UK government said that it did not have any issue with the vaccine, in fact, it recognised Covishield. However, it refused to put Indians on the list of countries that would get the UK "green pass" on the basis that it had some reservations about the CoWIN vaccination certificates that Indians possess while travelling to the UK.
