"EU Commission Urges Member States to Restrict Entry from India Amid Variant Fears"

Minimizing Categories of Entrants
Emphasizing Strict Testing and Quarantine

As fears of the Indian variant virus grow within Europe, the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU), is reported to have recommended member states to restrict entry from India. Photo by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As fears of the Indian variant virus grow within Europe, the European Union (EU) executive body, the European Commission, is reported to have recommended member states to restrict arrivals from India. Although not an EU member, neighboring the United Kingdom has also raised the possibility of postponing the easing of lockdown measures initially expected in mid-June due to the Indian variant virus.

According to foreign media on the 12th (local time), the EU Commission urged member states to further restrict arrivals from India to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 Indian variant virus.

The EU Commission stated that it is important to minimize the categories of arrivals from India for essential reasons only and to apply strict testing and quarantine measures to those allowed to enter. The Commission also proposed that member states apply an 'emergency brake' measure on non-essential travel from India.

This allows member states to urgently and temporarily suspend all entries of non-EU citizens residing in the respective country when the COVID-19 situation in a non-EU country rapidly worsens, especially with concerns about variant spread. The Commission explained that this proposal follows the recent World Health Organization (WHO) reclassification of the variant first identified in India from a 'variant of interest' to a 'variant of concern.'

Although EU member states have not yet adopted this proposal from the Commission, it is expected that individual countries may impose entry bans on non-essential travelers from India.

Concerns about the spread of the Indian variant virus have also increased in the United Kingdom, which neighbors the EU. As a result, there are forecasts that the scheduled easing of lockdown on June 21 may be delayed. The Telegraph reported that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) will hold an emergency meeting on the 13th (local time) to discuss the rapid spread of the Indian variant virus.

Due to the lack of sufficient information about the Indian variant virus among experts, concerns have grown. According to The Guardian, researchers at Imperial College London surveyed 127,000 people in England from April 15 to May 3 and found that while the COVID-19 infection rate halved, the Indian variant could spread faster than the UK variant. Professor James Naismith of Oxford University said in a BBC Radio interview, "The Indian variant should be regarded as a 'national issue,'" questioning the effectiveness of regional restrictions. He also stated, "We still do not know enough about the vaccine effectiveness against the Indian variant."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.