India Extends Air Traffic Suspension With UK Until Jan. 7 Amid New COVID Strain - Minister

NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2020) India has decided to extend the suspension of air traffic with the United Kingdom until January 7 due to risks associated with the discovery of a new coronavirus strain, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday.

"The decision has been made to extend the temporary suspension of flights to & from the UK till 7 January 2021. Thereafter strictly regulated resumption will take place for which details will be announced shortly," Singh Puri said on Twitter.

India previously suspended air traffic with the United Kingdom from December 23-31.

On Tuesday, the Indian Health Ministry said that from November 25 to December 23, about 33,000 passengers arrived in various Indian airports from the United Kingdom. All the passengers are being tracked and subjected to polymerase chain reaction coronavirus tests. It is noted that 114 passengers have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. According to the latest data, 20 cases of a new COVID-19 variant that recently emerged in the United Kingdom have been confirmed in India.

Earlier in December, London announced that a new coronavirus strain was detected in the country, adding that the new variant can be up to 70 percent more transmissible than other SARS-CoV-2 variants. After the news, many countries suspended travel to and from the UK. There is no evidence that the new strain is more pathogenic.