India halts UK flights amid new virus strain fears

Air India is one of the several airlines which operate flights between the UK and India

India has decided to halt flights to and from the UK in response to a new, more infectious coronavirus variant spreading in the UK.

Other European countries such as Germany, France and Italy have already suspended UK flights.

Health officials say the new variant is up to 70% more transmissible but there is no evidence that it is more deadly.

With more than 10 million confirmed cases, India has the second highest caseload after the US.

India's Ministry of Civil Aviation said that flights will be suspended from 22 December until 31 December.

Despite the concern over the high transmission speed of the new strain, experts say there is no evidence to suggest that it reacts differently to vaccines.

But the fear in India is that it can "cause havoc" and "throw our healthcare system out of control," Dr A Fathahudeen, a critical care expert who has treated hundreds of Covid-19 patients, told the BBC.

• New coronavirus variant: What do we know?

• New Covid strain: How worried should we be?

Since July, India has been allowing flights to and from the UK and a handful of other countries. Experts say that India will need to be more vigilant in tracking those who have arrived from the UK in the past two weeks.

Dr Fathahudeen also warned that the southern state of Kerala, where he heads the pandemic task force in Ernakulam district, has just seen the return of a large group of Indians and expats from the UK ahead of the holiday season.

"Many professionals like doctors, nurses, IT experts and students have already come to the state from the UK for Christmas holidays and weddings. We need to act swiftly in contact-tracing and any complacency at this point can have devastating consequences," he added.

He has also advised authorities to reconsider opening schools and colleges in Kerala and other parts of the country.

Countries outside Europe, such as Hong Kong and Canada, have also blocked UK flights.

On Sunday, coronavirus cases in the UK rose by nearly 36,000 - an all-time high for recorded cases. The new wave in cases have led to Christmas plans being scrapped or restricted for millions across the UK.

What do we know about the new variant?

The new variant was first detected in September. In November it made up around a quarter of cases in London. This reached nearly two-thirds of cases in mid-December.

Three things are coming together that mean it is attracting attention:

• It is rapidly replacing other versions of the virus

• It has mutations that affect part of the virus likely to be important

• Some of those mutations have already been shown in the lab to increase the ability of the virus to infect cells

All of these come together to build a case for a virus that can spread more easily. However, we do not have absolute certainty. New strains can become more common simply by being in the right place at the right time - such as London.

This variant is unusually highly mutated. The most likely explanation is it emerged in a patient with a weakened immune system that was unable to beat the virus.

There is no evidence yet to suggest the variant makes the infection more deadly, and at least for now the developed vaccines will almost certainly work against it.

However, if the virus changes so it dodges the full effect of the vaccine, then "vaccine escape" happens, and this may be the most concerning element.

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