Despite the growing fears surrounding the mutant strain of the virus first detected in the UK, the British PM will still be coming to India for the Republic Day functions of the country later in January.
British High Commission sources said that as of now, there is no difference in the plans made previously in the India visit front. Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in December had accepted India’s invitation to become the chief guest at the nation’s Republic Day celebrations, calling it “very generous”.
This will mark the PM’s first visit post his election as the top leader of the UK.
Mr. Johnson’s unchanged plans are stirring speculations as it comes amidst the strictest restrictions being seen in the UK placed in view of the appearance of a new strain of coronavirus, claimed to be more infectious and contagious than its predecessor. With the announcement of the mutant variant, many countries issued travel bans to and from the country that is battling the growing numbers of the infection. 40 nations including India, Canada, France, and Germany placed the suspension of international flights arriving from the UK.
In spite of the restrictions, over 30 countries have reported the detection of the mutant UK strain in their respective citizens. Till now, India has reported 58 patients infected with the new variant, all of whom were either UK returnees or had come in contact with the passengers.
Last month, Mr. Johnson’s office said the PM “will use his visit to India to boost cooperation in areas that matter to the UK and that will be priorities for our international engagement throughout 2021 – from trade and investment to defense and security, and health and climate change.”
The global leader’s visit will also be the first bilateral one following his exit from the European Union in December. With this, he will even become only the second British leader to come to India for witnessing the Republic Day parade as the first was John Major who visited in 1993.
In view of the increasing cases, the PM made fresh announcements regarding a complete nationwide lockdown. He said, “With most of the country already under extreme measures, it’s clear that we need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out.” Nearly 27,000 UK citizens were admitted to hospitals suffering from covid-19. This is 40% more than the peak number seen during the first outbreak in April 2020.
Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, the Chair of the Council of the British Medical Association, said in December that the PM may not visit India due to the growing cases.
“As the ‘pharmacy of the world’ India supplies more than 50 percent of the world’s vaccines, with over a billion doses of the UK’s Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine being manufactured at India’s Serum Institute in Pune,” Mr. Johnson said, calling India as the “pharmacy of the world” and “an increasingly indispensable partner for the United Kingdom”.
