No quarantine for fully vaccinated Indians in UK from Monday
What's the story
The United Kingdom has announced that Indians who are fully vaccinated with Covishield or any other UK-approved coronavirus vaccine will not have to quarantine upon arrival in Britain from Monday, October 11.
The decision comes after weeks of a controversy over the UK's imposition of COVID-19 quarantine rules on fully vaccinated Indians.
Here are more details on this.
Quote
British High Commissioner to India announced the decision
"No quarantine for Indian travelers to United Kingdom fully vaccinated with Covishield or another UK-approved vaccine from 11 October. Thanks to Indian government for close cooperation over last month," British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, tweeted yesterday.
"It will be easier and cheaper to enter the UK. This is great news," he said in a video message.
Rule
UK's travel rules had triggered criticism in India
UK had last month tweaked its COVID-19-related travel rules, requiring Indians fully vaccinated with Covishield to undergo mandatory quarantine.
Covishield is a version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, developed and used in the UK.
Officials and politicians in India had slammed the rule, calling it racist and offensive. The Indian government also said that the move was "discriminatory."
Details
UK listed Covishield as approved, but restrictions continued
After India's objection, the UK listed Covishield as an approved COVID-19 vaccine. However, the mandatory quarantine rule was still kept.
UK officials said that there were issues with India's vaccination certificate.
India hit back by saying that there were "no issues" with the certification and it was fully compliant with World Health Organization's (WHO) standards.
Developments
India last week imposed similar rules for British travelers
Last week, India had imposed similar restrictions for British travelers.
All UK nationals coming into India were asked to follow mandatory 10-day quarantine irrespective of their vaccination status.
Three COVID-19 RT-PCR tests were also mandated for UK travelers, according to the fresh rules.
India's new rule came into force the same day the British government's restrictions came into effect.