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Rahul granted 3-year passport before US trip

Rahul Gandhi.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday took a jibe at the former Wayanad MP, saying he visits abroad 60 times in a year and every time “tears down” the country…reports Asian Lite News

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been granted a short-validity passport for three years, media reported.

The passport was issued following a no-objection certificate (NOC) from a Delhi court on Friday, a departure from the typical 10-year issuance period for ordinary passports, the NDTV reported citing sources.

This decision was made after an objection was raised by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

Gandhi had surrendered his diplomatic passport after his disqualification as a Member of Parliament. The court’s decision was announced by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vaibhav Mehta, who noted that while not granting the typical 10-year passport, a three-year term would be granted, it was reported.

Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) workers are planning a huge welcome for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the US.

Rahul has embarked on his US visit on Sunday. He will be attending a program at Stanford University and meeting the Indian diaspora from May 29-30. Secretary of Indian Overseas Congress, Virender Vashishth, told ANI: “Under the leadership of Sam Pitroda, we Indian Overseas Congress workers are planning a huge welcome of our beloved leader Rahul Gandhi in the USA, President of USA Wing of IOC Mohinder Singh Gilzian and George Ibrahim are motivating Indian Diaspora also with IOC team.”

Vashishth further said that Congress MP Reventh Reddy, Dr Kota Nilima, Raja Warring, Dr Arti, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda and many more senior party leaders of the Party are also coming for preparations of a series of events in the US.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday took a jibe at the former Wayanad MP, saying he visits abroad 60 times in a year and every time “tears down” the country.

“I usually don’t comment on Rahul Gandhi because I scratch my head to try to understand why he is saying what he is saying. When PM Modi travels abroad, he speaks about our country’s achievements and earns respect for India. This man (Rahul Gandhi) goes abroad 60 times a year. On every visit, he tears down India and our institutions. He talks bad about our democracy, about EVMs, the justice system, media, and everything,” the minister said.

He further slammed the Congress leader and said that only Rahul has a problem with Indian democracy.

Rahul Gandhi was earlier scheduled to embark on a 10-day visit to the USA beginning May 31. (with inputs from ANI)

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Passport workers launch five-week walkout over pay

The UK government and teaching unions earlier this month agreed to hold “intensive talks” a day after health unions said they had reached a deal on pay…reports Asian Lite News

UK passport office workers launched a five-week stoppage Monday, the latest walkout in strike-hit Britain as the country reels from the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) accused the government of failing to deal even-handedly with public sector workers.

The UK has been hit by a wave of industrial action across the economy in recent months ranging from ambulance staff and rail staff to doctors, teachers and dock workers.

Unions say their members have been hit by a combination of decades-high inflation and stagnating wages that has left them struggling to pay their bills.

Ministers had failed to “hold any meaningful talks” with civil servants despite negotiations having been opened with unions representing health workers and teachers, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said.

“They’re treating their own workforce worse than anyone else. They’ve had six months to resolve this dispute but for six months have refused to improve their two percent imposed pay rise, and failed to address our members’ other issues of concern,” he said.

“They seem to think if they ignore our members, they’ll go away. But how can our members ignore the cost-of-living crisis when 40,000 civil servants are using foodbanks and 45,000 of them are claiming the benefits they administer themselves?” he added.

The union wants talks about pay, jobs, pensions and conditions.

More than 1,000 members of the PCS civil servants union are due to take part in the walkout with picket lines mounted outside eight sites.

A nationwide walkout of more than 130,000 civil servants is also planned for April 28. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejected demands for big pay hikes in the public sector, saying they are unaffordable and will fuel inflation.

The UK government and teaching unions earlier this month agreed to hold “intensive talks” a day after health unions said they had reached a deal on pay.

But teacher union leaders said Monday that they rejected the latest pay offer and announced further walkouts.

The government had offered teachers a £1,000 ($1,231) one-off payment for the current school year and an average rise of 4.5 percent pay rise for next year.

But National Education Union (NEU) members in England voted to turn down the deal and to strike on April 27 and May 2.

“The offer shows an astounding lack of judgment and understanding of the desperate situation in the education system,” said Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU.

ALSO READ-Passport office workers to strike for five weeks

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Passport office workers to strike for five weeks

A total of 360,000 people had to wait longer than 10 weeks to receive their passports last year…reports Asian Lite News

Most of Britain’s passport office workers will go on strike for five weeks starting next month in a pay dispute, potentially disrupting the delivery of passports ahead of the summer holiday period.

More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union working across most of the UK’s passport offices including in London, Liverpool and Glasgow will walk out from April 3 to May 5, the union said in a statement on Friday.

They join workers in other sectors in Britain who have staged strikes in recent months demanding higher pay to cover surging inflation.

Passport officers in Belfast, Northern Ireland could also strike if they vote in favour of walking out in a ballot that closes on Friday.

“This escalation of our action has come about because, in sharp contrast with other parts of the public sector, ministers have failed to hold any meaningful talks with us, despite two massive strikes and sustained, targeted action lasting six months,” PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said.

The PCS union has demanded a 10% pay rise for civil servants as UK inflation is now running at just over 10%. Passport officers had previously rejected a 2% pay rise.

The government’s passport offices are the sole issuer of UK passports, issuing over 5 million of them each year, meaning any strike by officers working there will likely cause significant disruption to services.

Britain is seeing the worst wave of labour unrest since the 1980s, with strikes affecting almost every aspect of daily life from healthcare and transport to schools and border checks, as workers demand pay rises that better reflect the worst inflation in four decades.

Passport Office staff have come under increasing pressure following a “record number of applications” in 2022 after COVID restrictions were lifted in the UK and abroad, the Home Office said.

A total of 360,000 people had to wait longer than 10 weeks to receive their passports last year.

And a report by the government’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, warned the Passport Office should “prepare for similar levels of demand” in 2023, with up to 10 million applications expected.

Around 100,000 other civil servants, who work in government departments, staged a strike on Wednesday alongside thousands of other employees including railway workers, doctors and teachers.

The latest action from passport office workers comes after months of strikes over pay disputes in other sectors, such as rail workers, London Underground drivers, teachers, NHS staff, regional BBC journalists, university lecturers and civil servants.

On Thursday, unions representing healthcare workers in England agreed a final pay offer with the government – which if accepted by members at a vote would bring walkouts from nurses, ambulance crews, paramedics, hospital porters and other health workers to an end.

A statement released by the government and healthcare unions said both sides believed the offer represented a “fair and reasonable settlement”.

The agreement does not apply to junior doctors as they are involved in a separate dispute with the government.

ALSO READ-Doctors begin three-day strike in pay dispute

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Supreme Court rejects gender-neutral passports

The judges, though, said the lack of a gender-neutral option “does not unjustifiably breach articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights”…reports Asian Lite News.

Five judges at Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a legal challenge against a government policy not to allow gender-neutral passports.

Christie Elan-Cane, who does not identify as either male or female, argued that Britain’s passport application process was “inherently discriminatory”.

Individuals only have a choice of “male” or “female” on the application, with no option to put “X” for “unspecified” — an alternative introduced in several other countries.

But the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal, ruling that a person’s identity could be confirmed using the form and checking it against other official documents.

That included birth, adoption or gender recognition certificates, said judge Robert Reed in the ruling.

“It is therefore gender recognised for legal purposes and recorded in those documents which is relevant,” he added.

The case was brought on the grounds that the government breached legal rights to a private life and not to face gender or sex discrimination.

The judges, though, said the lack of a gender-neutral option “does not unjustifiably breach articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights”.

Elan-Cane, who has campaigned on the issue for 25 years, had earlier lost cases in lower courts.

The activist, who uses the pronouns “per/per/perself”, said the government and courts were “on the wrong side of history”.

“This is not the end,” the campaigner wrote on Twitter, promising to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Countries including Canada, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Malta, Nepal and Pakistan all now issue passports with options other than male and female.

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Britain plans vaccine passport for nightclubs

The plans mean that people who want to enter nightclubs and other large-scale events will be required to show proof they have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, reports Asian Lite News

The government has confirmed that it plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and large-scale gatherings from next month.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said Sunday that officials are looking to begin the certification measures from the end of September, when the whole over-18 population would have been offered two Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Zahawi told Sky News that this was the “right thing to do” to ensure the economy remains open. Lawmakers and businesses, however, have criticized the measure as divisive and say they could embroil nightclubs in discrimination cases.

“The best thing to do is to work with the industry to make sure that they can open safely and sustainably in the long term, and the best way to do that is to check vaccine status,” he said.

The plans mean that people who want to enter nightclubs and other large-scale events will be required to show proof they have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said earlier this week vaccine passports will be required for nightclubs and large events from later this month as Scotland faces a spike in infections.

Britain records 37,011 new cases

Meanwhile, Britain recorded 37,011 new daily Covid-19 cases on Sunday, similar to the previous day’s total of 37,578, government statistics showed.

There were 68 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test reported, down from Saturday’s figure of 120. Figures can fluctuate due to hospital reporting patterns over the weekend.

No jab for young those between 12-15

Britain’s Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) will provide further advice on the Covid-19 vaccination of young people aged between 12 and 15 years after the government’s vaccine advisory body on Friday did not give its green light for vaccinating those falling in the age group on health grounds.

The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) concluded that the benefits are “insufficient” to support a universal offer of mass Covid vaccinations for all healthy children in this age group.

However, it has recommended that an even wider group of 12 to 15-year-olds with underlying health conditions should be given the Covid jab.

“The JCVI’s view is that overall, the health benefits from Covid-19 vaccination to healthy children aged 12 to 15 years are marginally greater than the potential harms,” said Wei Shen Lim, Chair of Covid-19 Immunisation for the JCVI.

“Taking a precautionary approach, this margin of benefit is considered too small to support universal Covid-19 vaccination for this age group at this time,” he said.

Covid-19 vaccinations in the UK are currently being offered to all adults aged 16 and over, with the JCVI tasked with looking at expanding this cohort.

It said that as its advice focussed on the narrow health parameters, the government could consider the wider societal impact such as disruption to schools. Therefore, the CMOs have been tasked with the process of assessing the broader impact of universal Covid-19 vaccination in this age group.

They will now convene experts and senior leaders in clinical and public health to consider the issue and present their advice to ministers on whether a universal programme should be taken forward.

“Our Covid-19 vaccines have brought a wide range of benefits to the country, from saving lives and preventing hospitalisations, to helping stop infections and allowing children to return to school,” said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

“People aged 12 to 15 who are clinically vulnerable to the virus have already been offered a Covid-19 vaccine, and today we’ll be expanding the offer to those with conditions such as sickle cell disease or type 1 diabetes to protect even more vulnerable children,” he said.

Javid has joined the health ministers from across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to write to the CMOs of all devolved regions of the United Kingdom to ask that they consider the vaccination of 12 to 15 year-olds from a broader perspective, as suggested by the JCVI.

The UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people aged 12 and over.

Following this, the JCVI concluded that the health benefits from vaccination are marginally greater than the potential known harms and therefore advised the government to seek further input. This includes the impact on schools and young people’s education, which has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, an extra 200,000 teenagers with underlying conditions will now be eligible for two doses. Doctors identified that children with chronic heart, lung and liver conditions were at much higher risk of Covid than healthy children.

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Jaishankar aims at citizen-friendly passport services

In February this year, the Ministry integrated the Passport Seva Programme with DigiLocker bringing about a major digital transformation in delivery of Passport services, the Minister stated…reports Asian Lite News.

Stating that the mandate of the Government is to ensure efficient governance and timely, effective, assured, transparent and accountable public service delivery, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday called for making the passport service more citizen-friendly.

“The mandate of our Government is to ensure efficient governance and timely, effective, assured, transparent and accountable public service delivery,” said Jaishankar in his keynote address on Passport Seva Divas 2021 on Thursday.

“As we move ahead on the path of progress, we should take stock of the steps in the realm of passports that would make it not only more citizen-centric but also citizen-friendly,” he added.

“Towards this end, our first approach was to bring in simplification of the passport rules and processes,” the Minister pointed out.

“However, as the process is dynamic, we should continue to look deeper and deliberate further on reducing the compliance burden on our citizens,” he noted.

“The Ministry also made concerted efforts, in close collaboration with the Department of Posts, to further strengthen the outreach of passport services to the citizens by establishing Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) all across the country,” Jaishankar said.

“This endeavour has resulted in expanding network of Post Office Passport Seva Kendras across the length and breadth of this country,” he added.

The Ministry of External Affairs has leveraged the use of technology and digital systems into its’ functioning, including, especially, in delivering passport services, the Minister said.

“Our continuing consolidation and expansion of Passport services has ensured that there is a Passport Kendra in 489 Lok Sabha Constituencies in the country,” he said.

It is also noteworthy that two ‘All Women Passport Seva Kendra’ became operational at Delhi and Cochin, marking the International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021 and extending passport services exclusively to our sisters, daughters and mothers, the External Affairs Minister informed.

Continuing with its global outreach exercise, he said that the Ministry has integrated 174 Indian Embassies and Consulates abroad with the Passport Seva Programme enabling a centralized passport issuance system for our citizens in India and Diaspora abroad.

In February this year, the Ministry integrated the Passport Seva Programme with DigiLocker bringing about a major digital transformation in delivery of Passport services, the Minister stated.

This has enabled citizens to submit various documents for obtaining Passport services through DigiLocker in a paperless mode, he mentioned.

https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1407951117833490436

Noting that the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) has successfully completed a decade in service of our citizens, Jaishankar informed that annually over 1 crore passports have been issued for three consecutive years till 2019.
“Despite the pandemic, we continued to deliver passports in a timely manner and hope to reach pre-pandemic levels as soon as possible,” he said.

Emphasizing on the word ‘Seva’ as contained in the ‘Passport Seva Project’, the Minister said, the attributes of being responsive, caring, considerate, and transparent are necessary for every ‘Sevak’.

He hailed all the personnel involved in rendering passport and related services for their collective dedication to the citizens of the country, despite the challenges and restrictions posed by the continuing pandemic nationally and globally. (INN)

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India opposes vaccine passports at G7 meet

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan raises concerns about the availability of vaccines and low rates of inoculation in developing nations, reports Asian Lite News.

With little over 3 per cent of its population fully vaccinated, India has firmly opposed the adoption of Covid-19 vaccine passports at the G7 meeting of health ministers, saying that such an initiative could prove to be “hugely discriminatory”.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, addressing the meeting of his counterparts from seven wealthy nations — to which India was invited this year as a guest — raised concerns about the availability of vaccines and low rates of inoculation in developing nations.

“At this stage of [the] pandemic, it is pertinent to also discuss about India’s concern over the idea of a vaccine passport. Considering the fact of lower levels of vaccination in developing countries in contrast to the developed countries and still unaddressed issues related to equitable and affordable access, supply and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, India would propose that implementation of vaccine passports will be hugely discriminatory and disadvantageous to the developing countries,” he said.

“India would suggest that the same should be implemented duly taking into consideration emerging evidence on [the] efficacy of vaccines and under the overarching coordination of WHO duly attending to the anomaly of access and affordability as it exists today,” Dr Vardhan said.

Several countries including the US and the UK have talked about vaccine passports for letting their citizens travel abroad or visitors from other countries to come in. The European Union has also been working to introduce a vaccine travel document for tourists.

The G7 health ministers meeting in Britain agreed Friday to step up coordination against future pandemics and other threats, but made no new commitments to speed up vaccine deliveries to less developed countries.

Meeting in Oxford in southern England ahead of next week’s G7 summit, the ministers agreed on a new charter to deliver international clinical trials of treatments and vaccines.

The agreement aims to make it easier and quicker to share results from vaccine and therapeutic trials to tackle Covid-19 and future health issues, the ministers said in a joint declaration.

But facing growing calls to ensure a fairer global distribution of vaccine doses, the G7 health gathering failed to break new ground, reiterating previous commitments to share doses “as soon as possible”.

Poorer countries, which do not have enough stocks for comprehensive inoculation programmes, have lagged in their jabs’ drives as they wait for stocks.

G7 countries are already committed to supporting the Covax global vaccine sharing programme, but the World Health Organization and others have warned it is short of around 200 million doses in the short term.

Despite being the world’s largest producer of vaccines, India’s inoculation programme has lagged because the government did not buy enough shots last year when most large nations placed their orders.

Facing a massive backlash over the devastating second wave, the government announced a series of steps to speed up the process and has promised to inoculate its entire population by the end of the year.

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Britain’s vaccine passport plans to be scrapped

Move comes amidst mounting concern over the prospect of vaccine certificates voiced by the Conservative Party, as well as opposition lawmakers and civil rights groups, reports Asian Lite News

Britain plans to drop Covid-19 passports as a legal requirement for large events. Officials working on the review into Covid-19 status certificates believe there is no chance the law will be changed to mandate their use within the UK.

A government spokesman said that the Covid-19 vaccine certification review is still in process and no decision has yet been made.

There has been mounting concern over the prospect of vaccine certificates voiced by the Conservative Party, as well as opposition lawmakers and civil rights groups. In April, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also signaled the ethical issues posed by Covid-19 vaccine certification.

More than 70 British lawmakers have signalled their opposition to the introduction of so-called vaccine passports that the government is considering bringing in to help to open the economy as it starts lifting Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

The government is reviewing the idea of asking people to show proof of a Covid-19 vaccination to access crowded spaces such as pubs or sports events, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson having already said that a certificate is likely to be needed for international travel.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Saturday that trials of Covid passports would begin within weeks during pilots at major sports events and possibly a music awards ceremony in the next two months to assess their impact.

On Friday Johnson said that a combination of immunity factors — if people have had the disease, a vaccination or had a Covid-19 test — would give businesses confidence.

UK

“So those three things working together will, I think, be useful for us as we as we go forward,” Johnson said.

But there has been mounting concern from some in his own Conservative Party, as well as opposition lawmakers and civil rights groups, about the prospect of vaccine certificates.

“We oppose the divisive and discriminatory use of COVID status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs,” said a statement signed by a group of more than 70 lawmakers from across the political spectrum.

Under the government’s planned “roadmap” out of the pandemic, pubs will be allowed to serve people outdoors later this month, with a further easing of restrictions in mid-May before all measures are lifted near the end of June.

Johnson suggested last month that some pubs might require customers to produce vaccine certificates. Culture minister Oliver Dowden, meanwhile, has said that such certificates could help get more people into theatres.

No decision has yet been made and Johnson has instructed senior minister Michael Gove to review the possible role of certificates, saying there are deep and complex ethical issues to explore. Gove is due to report back shortly.

More than 31 million Britons have already received their first vaccine dose in the fastest inoculation programme in Europe.

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Govt simplifies renewal of OCI cards

OCI card is very essential for foreigners of Indian origin and as per rules OCI cards to be reissued for new passports. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday said that the government has decided to dispense with the requirement of issuance of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards if a person has obtained registration as OCI cardholder after attaining the age of 20 years.

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While giving details about the way which will ease out re-issuance of OCI card, the Home Ministry said, “A person who has got registration as OCI cardholder prior to attaining the age of 20 years will have to get the OCI card re-issued only once when a new passport is issued after his or her completing 20 years of age, so as to capture his or her facial features on attaining adulthood. If a person has obtained registration as OCI cardholder after attaining the age of 20 years, there will be no requirement of re-issuance of OCI card.”

Presently, the OCI card is required to be re-issued each time a new passport is issued to persons up to 20 years of age and also after they complete 50 years of age, in view of biological changes in the face of the applicant. With a view to facilitating the OCI cardholders, it has now been decided by the Centre to dispense with this requirement.
The ministry said that the OCI card has proved to be very popular amongst foreigners of Indian Origin and spouses of foreign origin of Indian citizens or OCI cardholders, as it helps them in hassle-free entry and unlimited stay in India. So far about 37.72 lakh OCI Cards have been issued by the Government of India.

Delhi Airport

“With a view to updating the data regarding new passports obtained by the OCI cardholder, it has been decided that he or she shall upload a copy of the new passport containing his or her photo and also the latest photo on the online OCI portal, each time a new passport is issued up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age. These documents may be uploaded by the OCI cardholder within 3 months of receipt of the new passport,” the ministry said.

“As per the extant law, a foreigner of Indian origin or a foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or foreign spouse of an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder, can be registered as an OCI cardholder. OCI card is a life-long visa for entry and stay in India with a number of other major benefits attached to it which are not available to other foreigners,” MHA added.

“However, in the case of those who have been registered as OCI cardholder as the spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or an OCI cardholder, the person concerned will be required to upload on the system, a copy of the new passport containing the photo of the passport holder and also the latest photo along with a declaration that their marriage is still subsisting each time a new passport is issued. These documents may be uploaded by the OCI cardholder spouse within three months of receipt of his or her new passport,” it said.

The Home Ministry said that the details will be updated on the system and an auto acknowledgement through e-mail will be sent to the OCI cardholder informing that the updated details have been taken on record. “There will be no restriction on the OCI cardholder to travel to or from India during the period from the date of issue of new passport till the date of final acknowledgement of his or her documents in the web-based system. All the above services of uploading documents will be provided on a gratis basis to the OCI cardholders,” the MHA said. (ANI)

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UK to try out ‘Covid status certification’

Boris Johnson(IANS)

The National Health Service (NHS) will set up a system that will allow people to use an app or a paper certificate to gain access to major events..reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil plans on Monday to develop a “Covid status certification” scheme to enable the safe return of mass gatherings and indoor events as lockdown restrictions eased in England.

Football cup finals, the World Snooker Championship, a comedy club and a cinema will be used to test vaccine passports over the next few weeks, Xinhua news agency quoted a report by the Guardian newspaper.

The evidence from the trials will be used to consider the wider use of vaccine passports, it said.

According to the newspaper, the National Health Service (NHS) will set up a system that will allow people to use an app or a paper certificate to gain access to major events.

The system being piloted will take into consideration whether someone has had a vaccination, a recent negative test, or natural immunity after a positive test in the last six months, said the newspaper.

Johnson will set out more details on Monday at a time when his government announced that more than 5 million people in Britain have received their second dose of the vaccine.

UK

However, British lawmakers will want to study the proposals closely with many deeply suspicious about anything which smacks of a “vaccine passport” for domestic use, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

More than 40 Conservative lawmakers have publicly declared their opposition to the idea, and Johnson could struggle to get the plan through the British Parliament if they decide to oppose it, said the London-based newspaper.

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In developing the scheme, officials will take into account three factors, whether an individual has received the vaccine, has recently tested negative for the virus, or has “natural immunity” having tested positive in the previous six months.

The Prime Minister will also outline the government’s approach for easing restrictions on foreign travel when its global travel task force reports on April 12.

British ministers have made it clear that the ban on foreign travel will remain in place until at least May 17.

When it is finally lifted, it will be replaced by a risk-based “traffic light” system with red, amber and green ratings for countries around the world, local media reported.

Also read:UK mulls Covid vax certification

This will be based on a range of factors, including the proportion of the population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.

Travellers arriving from countries rated “green” will not be required to isolate, although pre-departure and post-arrival tests will still be needed.

For those classed as “amber” or “red”, the restrictions will remain as they are will arrivals required to isolate or enter quarantine.

UK starts surge testing

More than 31.4 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the official figures.

From April 12, non-essential retail, as well as restaurants and pubs, if serving people outdoors, will be allowed to reopen in England.

On February 22, Johnson had announced his roadmap exiting the lockdown, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic.

The four-step plan is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June.

Experts have warned the UK is “still not out of the woods” amid concerns over new variants and the third wave of pandemic in the European continent.

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