Nations Impose Travel Restrictions on India Amid COVID-19 Surge

Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in India, several countries have issued travel advisories or imposed bans on travel either to or from India.

India on Tuesday, 20 April, reported 2,59,170 fresh COVID-19 cases, 1,761 fatalities and 1,54,761 discharges in 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry. The total case tally has now reached 1,53,21,089 with 20,31,977 active cases and 1,80,530 deaths. The total recoveries, meanwhile, stands at 1,31,08,582.

Here is a list of all those countries that have imposed restrictions on travel with regard to India.

Also Read: UK Adds India to Its Travel ‘Red List’ Amid Surge in COVID Cases

United States

The United States’ Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a travel advisory for citizens, asking them to avoid travel to the country. This comes in light of their assessment of the COVID-19 situation in India as “very high” risk.

The CDC further said that citizens should get fully vaccinated before travelling to India. “All travelers should wear a mask, stay six feet from others, avoid crowds, and frequently wash their hands,” the statement read.

According to the health body, fully vaccinated travellers do not have to get tested before leaving the United States, unless the destination requires it. Further, it said that one would not have to self-quarantine after their arrival in the United States.

United Kingdom

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom on Monday added India to its travel 'red list' amid the surge in COVID cases in the country and the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant in India.

As per Health Secretary Matt Hancock, all arrivals from India except for UK or Irish nationals has been banned temporarily.

“We’ve taken the difficult, but vital decision to add India to the Red List. This means anyone who is not a UK or Irish resident or a British citizen cannot enter the UK if they’ve been in India in the previous 10 days,” Britain Health Minister Matt Hancock told their Parliament.

According to the new order, people coming from red-list nations – which includes Pakistan and Bangladesh – must pay hefty amounts to stay at a government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has meanwhile called off a trip to New Delhi, citing an unrelenting surge in COVID cases in the country.

Also Read: Hong Kong to Ban Flights From India, Pak & Philippines for 14 Days

Hong Kong

Earlier, the Hong Kong government banned commercial passenger flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for 14 days from Tuesday as these countries were at "extremely high-risk from COVID-19".

According to the announcement, anyone who spent more than two hours in these three countries are banned from entering Hong Kong. People already in quarantine in Hong Kong from these three nations will be ordered to undergo an additional test on the 26th day after arriving in the city.

Health officials had earlier decided to ban India's Vistara services from Mumbai, for two weeks until 2 May after a number of passengers were found to be COVID positive upon their arrival in Hong Kong.

Pakistan

Pakistan has banned travel from India for two weeks in wake of the surge in cases, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in Islamabad said, according to IANS.

The NCOC on Monday, 19 April, decided to place India in its C-Category list, following which all passengers coming from India via land or air routes will not be allowed to enter the country, the report said.

(With inputs from IANS.)

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