India extends suspension of flights to and from UK till January 7
- The ban on flights had to remain in effect till December 31
- Flights were suspended due to the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in the UK
- India has confirmed 20 cases of the mutant coronavirus strain
India has on Wednesday extended the ban on flights to and from the United Kingdom, till January 7, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, ANI reported. Flights were first banned on December 22 till December 31.
The decision was taken due to the spread of a mutant strain of the coronavirus in the UK. Experts believe this COVID-19 variant to be considerably more contagious than the original strain first detected in China, AFP reported.
20 UK returnees to India have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Union Ministry of Health said about 33,000 people have arrived in India from the UK, from November 25 to December 23. All of them are being tracked and tested.
A number of countries have reported cases of the mutant coronavirus. These include France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Chile and Pakistan.
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