Britain aims to restart travel, but India grapples with wave of viruses

Britain will unveil plans to restart international travel on Monday as it cautiously emerges from a coronavirus lockdown, but India has been forced to tighten the brakes further to fight a huge spike in infections.

Even as vaccinations accelerate, the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in many parts of the world, forcing lockdowns from Canada and Peru back to Bangladesh and Italy.

But after giving their first dose to more than 31 million people, Britain is set to ease travel restrictions which include a ban on international travel, except for a handful of permitted reasons.

“We are doing all we can to allow our country to reopen … as safely as possible,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Britain has set a tentative May 17 date for the resumption, with destinations categorized as green, orange or red depending on the viral threat.

People heading to low-risk green countries will simply take a viral test before and after their trip, but those heading to orange or red destinations will need to self-isolate or quarantine afterward.

But the government said it was too early to say which countries would be labeled green.

UK authorities are also planning to test a virus certification scheme that will allow people to attend events such as football matches, and also roll out two free rapid tests to all residents of England from Thursday. .

This progress stands in stark contrast to the crisis in Europe, where many countries have been forced to reimpose deeply unpopular restrictions due to worrying surges while falling behind Britain on vaccinations.

Italy and France imposed restrictions ahead of Easter weekend, and new coronavirus restrictions were due to go into effect in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.

But in Greece, where the number of coronavirus infections and deaths remains high, authorities relaxed a nationwide lockdown on Monday, opening most retail stores.

‘It drives me crazy’

There was an alarm in India on Monday, which reported more than 100,000 new infections daily for the first time since the start of the pandemic, and its worst-hit state, Maharashtra, tightened an evening curfew from Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is keen to avoid imposing a new national lockdown after a shutdown in March 2020 that caused widespread human and economic misery.

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has become the latest Indian celebrity to test positive, and said on Monday he was in home quarantine as a precaution.

Surjit Singh, a rickshaw driver in the capital Delhi, blamed the situation on recklessness.

“The fear of Covid-19 is gone. Most people don’t wear masks properly, including many of my passengers,” the 68-year-old told AFP.

Neighboring Bangladesh also began a seven-day lockdown on Monday to tackle a sharp rise in cases, with all domestic travel, including flights, suspended. Shopping malls and stores were also closed.

Thousands of people fled the capital Dhaka on Sunday, while many were seen buying wholesale groceries before the lockdown.

“We will not be able to support the family if this lockdown continues,” said street vendor Murad Hasan.

“This is driving me crazy. What should we do?”

“One hundred percent necessary”

Along with economic punishment measures such as lockdowns, countries are also trying to ramp up vaccinations, seeking scarce supplies in an attempt to end a pandemic that has claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide.

In his Easter Sunday address, Pope Francis called vaccines an “essential tool” to end the pandemic and urged their rapid deployment in the world’s poorest countries.

But the persistent threat of the coronavirus has been illustrated in Chile, where despite a high number of vaccinations, infections have skyrocketed and forced the country to close its borders from Monday.

Travelers flocked to the airport in the capital Santiago on Sunday before closing.

And despite the inconvenience, Ismael Bustos, who was on his way to Mexico, said it was “one hundred percent necessary.”

“I think we should have been locked up a long time ago.”

strawberries-blood / mtp