Adar Poonawalla, The CEO of Covishield manufacturer Serum Insitute of India (SII), expressed his gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after the UK government recognised Covishield and rescinded the mandatory quarantine rules for Indians entering the country. India had earlier dubbed the UK’s quarantine mandate to be ‘discriminatory.’
The CEO took to Twitter to thank the Prime Ministers of both countries and hailed the strong relationship between the two. “Thank you Shri @narendramodi Ji and PM @BorisJohnson. This is a great example of the close relationship between our two countries, No quarantine for travellers post the 11th of October if you are double vaccinated with COVISHIELD!” he wrote.
Thank you Shri @narendramodi Ji and PM @BorisJohnson. This is a great example of the close relationship between our two countries, No quarantine for travellers post the 11th of October, if you are double vaccinated with COVISHIELD! https://t.co/lYCF0OvIJW
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) October 7, 2021
This comes just hours after the British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis announced on Twitter that the 10-day mandatory quarantine rule for Indian travellers to the UK fully vaccinated with Covishield or any other UK-approved vaccine will be revoked starting from October 11.
He commended both the governments for their cooperation over the last month to arrive at this decision, further adding in his video statement that the move would make it easier for Indians to enter the UK and make travelling to the country cheaper.
No quarantine for Indian 🇮🇳 travellers to UK 🇬🇧 fully vaccinated with Covishield or another UK-approved vaccine from 11 October.
Thanks to Indian government for close cooperation over last month. pic.twitter.com/cbI8Gqp0Qt
— Alex Ellis (@AlexWEllis) October 7, 2021
Moreover, the UK government declared in a statement that starting from October 11, all travellers cleared to enter the UK will only be required to take a COVID-19 test on day 2 of their arrival. Earlier, overseas travellers had to produce test results from day 2 and day 8 of their arrival in the country.
Owing to the quarantine mandate imposed on Indian travellers by the UK government, the Indian government had retaliated by announcing earlier this week that all UK nationals arriving in India from the UK would have to go through a 10-day mandatory quarantine starting from October 4.