US advises its citizens to avoid travelling to India amid massive surge in Covid-19 cases

WASHINGTON: US' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had advised its citizens to avoid travelling to India amid a massive surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.

In a statement, the CDC said: "Because of the current situation in India even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants and should avoid all travel to India. If you must travel to India, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travellers should wear a mask, stay 6 feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash their hands."

The CDC also issued travel recommendations for fully vaccinated travellers which stated: "If you are fully vaccinated, then do not have to get tested before leaving the United States, unless your destination requires it and you do not have to self-quarantine after you arrive in the United States."

The United Kingdom has already added India to its travel "red list" on a precautionary basis after reporting 103 cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India, the country's health minister Matt Hancock said on Monday.

The Covid-19 situation in India has been deteriorating amid the second wave of coronavirus infections. For the past three days, the country has been reporting in excess of two lakh coronavirus infections and over 1,000 related deaths on a daily basis.