New Covid strain: India's count of UK virus variant cases rises to 165, says govt
1 min read . Updated: 28 Jan 2021, 04:00 PM IST
Premium- The country on Wednesday extended the temporary restrictions imposed on flights originating from the UK to India till 14 February
The number of people who have tested positive for the new UK variant of Covid-19 in India has climbed to 165, the government announced on Thursday.
This comes as Pfizer and BioNTech, makers of a Covid-19 vaccine, today said that their product is effective against the coronavirus variants that have emerged in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Pfizer-BioNTech's statement comes after US biotech firm Moderna this week announced that its coronavirus vaccine also appears to work against the new and more infectious variants of Covid-19 found in the UK and South Africa.
Meanwhile, India on Wednesday extended the temporary restrictions imposed on flights originating from the UK to India till 14 February.
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In a letter to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airlines, the Civil Aviation Ministry said that the restrictions on flights between India and Britain have been extended till 14 February (23.59 hours).
However, the restrictions do not imply a ban on flights between the two countries but rather seek to limit the number of flights permitted to operate.
As per the restrictions in place, as many as 30 flights will be allowed per week. Fifteen of them will be operated by Indian carriers and 15 by British ones.
Currently, flights to Britain are operating out of only New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The country reported 11,666 fresh Covid-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, as the tally rose to 10,701,193, the government data showed on Thursday. The death toll rose to 153,847 with 123 new fatalities in the last 24 hours.
With agency inputs
