After Britain added India to its “red list” on Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that his government is “looking very carefully” on the travel ban.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, though Canada is yet to make a decision, the government is looking into ensuring that there are no cases from overseas.
The United Kingdom on Monday added India to its travel ‘red list’ in view of the surge in coronavirus cases in the country. Britain imposed its strictest travel curbs on India, hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called off a trip to New Delhi.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that effective from 0300 GMT on Friday, all arrivals from India were being banned except for UK and Irish nationals. Those nationals, as well as foreigners residing in the UK, must pay hefty amounts to stay in a government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days on their return from red list nations, which include Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“We’ve made the difficult but vital decision to add India to the red list,” Hancock told parliament after the government had faced days of criticism for holding off the decision, pending Johnson’s trip.
The decision was in light of surging case numbers and the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant in India, the health minister said, after the capital New Delhi entered a week-long lockdown.
In the event, the UK and Indian governments earlier Monday called off Johnson’s visit, which was set for next week after already being postponed in January.
It would have been Johnson’s first major foreign visit since he took power in 2019. Meanwhile, fights are currently operating between India and Canada almost on a daily basis under an air bubble arrangement between the two countries. They are operated by Air Canada and Air India and connect New Delhi to the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver.
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