Germany classified Britain a "virus variant area" due to the spread of the COVID-19 variant first identified in India. The warning means stricter restrictions and quarantine measures for those arriving from the UK.
Travelers from the UK to Germany will face tougher restrictionsImage: Reuters/T. Melville
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Germany's Robert Koch Institute for public health declared Britain and Northern Ireland a virus variant region on Friday.
The move, which will come into force on Sunday, will see significant travel restrictions introduced.
Anyone entering Germany from the United Kingdom will be required quarantine for two weeks on arrival, even if they test negative for the coronavirus.
Airlines, rail and bus companies will only be able to bring German citizens or people who reside in Germany into the country.
"We want to play it safe," a German government source told Reuters news agency. "In this important phase of the vaccination campaign, the entry of problematic mutations must be avoided as far as possible."
It has been upgraded by the WHO to a "variant of concern," from a "variant of interest."
This is because there is some evidence to suggest this variant is more contagious than other variants, according to the WHO's lead COVID-19 scientist, Maria van Kerkhove.
There may be some evidence to show it may be more resistant to vaccines.
As India records high daily death tolls, the second wave of the coronavirus has shown no sign of slowing down. However, for many, life goes on amid the sea of tragedy.
Image: Samuel Rajkumar/REUTERS
Social distancing, a farce?
People — many without masks — shop at a vegetable market in Mumbai. India has been struggling to contain a massive coronavirus outbreak, with nearly 24 million infections recorded to date. The country has logged around 260,000 deaths linked to the virus. According to medical experts, these numbers are vastly underreported.
Image: Niharika Kulkarni/REUTERS
Shortage of essential supplies
A young man unloads empty oxygen cylinders for refilling in Srinagar, Kashmir. India's health infrastructure has been under severe stress in recent days, with several states reeling under the shortage of medical oxygen, essential drugs, beds, health workers and vaccines, among other vital supplies.
Image: Dar Yasin/AP/picture alliance
Crematoriums overrun by bodies
Volunteers at a nonprofit organization carry bags full of unclaimed ashes belonging to COVID-19 victims at a crematorium in New Delhi. As the intense second coronavirus wave grips India, apocalyptic scenes of mass cremations have emerged, as queues of bodies wait outside overwhelmed crematoriums.
Image: Adnan Abidi/REUTERS
Disregarding scientific evidence
A man bathes in cow milk to remove cow dung from his body during "cow dung therapy" at a cow shelter on the outskirts of the city of Ahmedabad. Participants believe cow excrement boosts their bodies' ability to defend against the virus. The Indian government has faced heightened criticism for ignoring scientific evidence and warnings about variants.
Image: Amit Dave/REUTERS
Concern over new variants
A worker carries bricks on her head in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the B.1.617 coronavirus variant — first detected in India last October — as a "variant of concern." Epidemiologists note that this variant may be more resistant to vaccines.
Image: Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto/picture alliance
No nationwide lockdown
Policemen check the credentials of delivery personnel from India's leading food delivery service, Zomato, in the southern city of Kochi. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has refused to announce a nationwide lockdown over economic concerns, several states have imposed strict restrictions and nighttime curfews to curb spread of the virus.
Image: R S Iyer/AP/picture alliance
Scramble to reach home
A woman arrives at a bus stand in Jaipur to leave for her hometown, after authorities in the western state of Rajasthan announced a lockdown. Many people have left bigger cities for their towns and villages in order to avoid a repeat of the massive migrant crisis that accompanied India's first coronavirus lockdown last year.
Image: Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Living with the virus?
A young man is seen carrying cans of beer as liquor shops in several districts of Uttar Pradesh are reopened. The northern state, led by Modi ally Yogi Adityanath, has registered one of the largest outbreaks in the country. In recent days, several bodies have washed up on the shores of the river Ganges, which runs through the state. Many believe that they belong to victims of the virus.
Image: Pradeep Gaur/SOPA/Zuma/picture alliance
Politics amid pandemic
Catholic nuns wear protective face masks as they wait to cast their votes outside a polling station in Kolkata. The government has been under fire for holding regional elections and massive rallies during a time when the country was descending into chaos over the new surge. Since the onset of the pandemic, West Bengal state has recorded more than 1.05 million infections so far.
Image: Rupak De Chowdhuri/REUTERS
A long road ahead
A man dressed as a clown sprays disinfectant outside a house in Mumbai. He told Reuters that he wears other different costumes aside from dressing up as a clown to raise awareness and spread information about the coronavirus. Many in India fear that the second wave is far from stemmed and if the virus spreads unabated, mass grief and mourning may soon be replaced by apathy.
Image: Francis Mascarenhas/REUTERS
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Where the Indian variant has been found
Since its discovery, the variant has been found in 26 out of the 53 countries that span the region covered by the WHO Europe.
The UK has seen cases of the variant more than double within a week. The country's northwest has been particularly hard hit.
Earlier this week, residents of two tower blocks in the western German town of Velbert, near Düsseldorf, were put under quarantine after a woman was diagnosed with the infectious Indian variant.
