Nepal restricts entry of UK passengers amid new Covid-19 strain

Nepal on Tuesday instructed international airlines to ensure it does not carry passengers originating from or transiting through the United Kingdom until further notice to prevent the spread of a new variant of Covid-19 detected in the European nation, which is said to be more infectious than previous variants.

In an official notice, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal instructed that incoming flights should not board passengers from the UK.

"This is of your urgent attention to ensure that the aircraft bound to Nepal shall not onboard the passengers originating from or transiting through United Kingdom (UK) due to the severe contagion of new strain of coronavirus in UK. The entry restriction for such passengers into Nepal shall be effective from 2359 hrs NST of 23 December 2020 until further notice," said the notice.The flights include Air Arabia, Air China, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Korean Air and more.

Nepal's announcement comes as a growing number of countries, including India, have halted flights from the UK following the discovery of this new variant of Covid-19.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week announced new tier-4 Covid-19 restrictions in parts of England, including London, due to the rapid spread of the new variant of coronavirus, limiting the celebrations ahead of Christmas.

"We will introduce new restrictions in the most affected areas, specifically...London, the Southeast and East of England, which are currently in tier 3. These areas will enter new tier 4, which will be broadly equivalent to national restrictions, which were placed in England in November," Johnson said in an address to the nation as quoted by Sputnik.

( With inputs from ANI )