Boris Johnson's India visit 'may not be possible' amid new Covid strain scare: Senior British doctor

Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, the Chair of the Council of the British Medical Association, told NDTV on Tuesday that while it was still too early for the British government to decide on Johnson's visit, the trip "may not be possible, particularly if this level of infection and spread continues."

"Obviously we can't make a decision today about something five weeks from now... changes to the virus' reality happen on a day-to-day basis. But one consideration is that the trip to India may not be possible, particularly if this level of infection and spread continues," Dr Nagpaul told NDTV.

"But if the lockdown in London and other parts (the UK capital and other areas are under extremely stringent Tier 4 restrictions) controls the spread of the virus, then may be," he said.

The new strain of the virus, which is 70 pct more infectious, has sparked fresh concern worldwide as cases of the new coronavirus mutation have been also found in countries like Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia besides the UK where it is rapidly spreading.

India has already joined 25 other countries in temporarily suspending air travel to and from the United Kingdom starting Tuesday.

However, the new strain or mutation of the coronavirus, first detected in the United Kingdom, has not been seen in India so far, Dr VK Paul, a member of government think-tank NITI Aayog, said on Tuesday.

"(And) as of now, it has no impact on the potential of vaccines being developed in our country and (which) are available in other countries," he added.