Racism, offensive: Jairam Ramesh, Shashi Tharoor slam U.K.'s COVID-19 travel rules
The Hindu
An expanded list of countries whose vaccines are recognised in England does not include India, which means that Indians vaccinated with Covishield would be treated as unvaccinated.
Former Union ministers Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor on Monday slammed the U.K.'s COVID-19-related travel rules, under which Indians vaccinated with Covishield would still be treated as unvaccinated, with Mr. Ramesh saying it "smacks of racism".
Mr. Tharoor said that because of the restrictions he had even pulled out of a debate at The Cambridge Union Debating Society and from the launch events for the U.K. edition of his book, 'The Battle Of Belonging'.
Passengers who aren't recognised as being fully vaccinated with authorised vaccines and certificates under England's international travel rules, including Indians, will still have to take a pre-departure test, further PCR tests on Day 2 and Day 8 of arrival, and self-isolate at their given address for 10 days upon entry, according to the rules.