All that you need to know if you are travelling to the UK

• The United Kingdom has allowed travellers to enter the country if vaccinated with Covishield.
• Indians will still have to take tests on arrival and quarantine for ten days.
• The norms are to be effective from October 4, 2021.

The United Kingdom has included Covishield amongst its approved list of COVID-19 vaccines for people travelling to the country.

The UK government has approved formulations of four listed vaccines including AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, which qualify as approved vaccines.

Until now, the UK had divided foreign countries into a traffic light system -- red, amber and green countries based on COVID-19 risks.

From 4 a.m. on October 4, the rules for international travel to the UK will change from a traffic light system to a red list of countries and simplified travel measures. Red list denotes COVID-19 hotspots. India is in the amber list.

Here is what you need to know if you’re travelling to UK:

For those who are vaccinated:

• You should be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before you arrive in England.
• Book and pay for COVID test on day 2 after arrival in England beforehand.
• The UK government has recently recognised Covishield, as it is a formulation of AstraZeneca. India’s Covaxin is not recognised in the UK considering it is not yet approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) as well.
• Since the UK government has approved the vaccine, the travellers vaccinated with Covishield are not required to undergo the quarantine process.
• However, the UK government has not yet recognised India’s CoWIN certificate. So more clarity is required on this front in the coming days.

For those unvaccinated:

• Meanwhile, those unvaccinated can also travel to the country, but with more restrictions.
• Unvaccinated people need to provide a pre-departure COVID-19 test.
• Book and pay for day 2 and day 8 tests to be taken after the arrival in England.
• Quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days after you arrive in England.

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