when will world travel resume?
India said on Friday that it will resume international passenger flights from mid-December with COVID-19-related pavements for "at-risk" countries and ordered strict screening at borders amid fears of a new coronavirus variant spreading globally.
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| when will world travel resume? |
The federal health department said reports of mutations in the variant identified as B.1.1.529 had "serious public health implications" and asked states to conduct rigorous screening and testing for all travelers from South Africa and other "at-risk" countries. .
"This variant has been reported to have a significantly high number of mutations and therefore has serious public health implications for the country given the recently relaxed visa restrictions and opening up of international travel," health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote in a letter to the states. Said. late thursday.
when will world travel resume?
But India's civil aviation ministry said it has decided to allow airlines to resume scheduled international flights from December 15, lifting a nearly two-year ban imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19.
India's foreign ministry said there was no immediate information on the steps taken by the government.
"This is an evolving event," Foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said at a news conference.
The federal health department did not respond to a Reuters request for further comment.
On Friday, the UK Health Safety Agency said the new variant has a spike protein that is significantly different from the original coronavirus on which COVID-19 vaccines are based, and could make existing vaccines less effective.
when will world travel resume
The UK has banned flights from six African countries and has asked British travelers returning from these destinations to be quarantined.
India, the world's second-worst-affected country by COVID-19, recorded the smallest increase in new cases in a year and a half this week, due to increased vaccines and antibodies from previous infections in a large part of its population.
The total coronavirus cases on Friday reached 34.56 million. India's daily caseload has halved since September, reporting 10,549 new cases on Friday.
Earlier this month, India identified 10 "at risk" countries, including Europe, China, South Africa and New Zealand, among others, and opened its borders to a total of 99 countries.
Indian stocks fell more than 2% on Friday in line with declines in markets across Asia as investors panicked over the potential impact of the new variant and fled risky assets.