Scientist urges U.K government to impose mandatory quarantine on travelers from India

Danny Altmann, an immunology professor at Imperial College, told BBC that he found it “mystifying” and “slightly confounding” that travelers from India were not required to stay in a hotel as the highly infectious double mutant Indian variant of coronavirus spreading alarmingly in the country.

Danny Altman also warned that this newly found B.1.617 variant of coronavirus will derail the U.K’s plan to ease Covid-19 induced restrictions by June 21. The country has decided to ease lockdown as its immunization program passed its target and finished vaccinating almost half of the citizens against coronavirus.

Danny Altmann told BBC that the UK should be on its guard against another wave of infections after 77 cases of the B.1.617 variant, which was first detected in India, were found. The new strain with two mutations, the E484Q and L452R, is thought to be driving India’s new wave of infections that has made it the second worst-hit country, surpassing Brazil, a Hindustan Times report said.

“I think we should be terribly concerned about it,” Altmann told BBC News. “They (variants of concern) are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry,” he added.

However, the Public Health England (PHE) has designated the B.1.617 variant of coronavirus a Variant Under Investigation (VUI) and has not included in variant of concern (VOC) category.

“PHE has identified 77 cases of this variant in the UK and all appropriate public health interventions will be undertaken, including enhanced contact tracing. This variant has been designated VUI-21APR-01. PHE and international partners continue to monitor the situation closely,” a PHE weekly report said.