London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Boris Johnson's India Trip "May Not Be Possible": Senior British Doctor

Boris Johnson's India Trip "May Not Be Possible": Senior British Doctor

The mutant strain was detected in southeast England in September, and while it offers no change in clinical severity or mortality it is 70 per cent more transmissible

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's India visit - he is to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in Delhi next month - may not take place because of concerns over the rapidly-spreading mutated version of the novel coronavirus in that country, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the Chair of the Council of the British Medical Association, told NDTV Tuesday.

He said that while it was still too early for the British government to decide on Mr 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 mutant strain - with at least 17 changes to its viral genetic load- was detected in southeast England in September. This strain - B.1.1.7 - offers no change in clinical severity or mortality, but is 70 per cent more transmissible, which Dr Nagpaul said made containing it a bigger challenge.

The strain, cases of which have already been seen in Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia, has led to several other countries, including India, temporarily banning flights to and from the UK, and its rapid spread has also severely affected availability of hospital beds.


UK capital London and parts of the southeast are under stringent Tier 4 restrictions


Dr Nagpaul said occupancy levels at hospitals (including non-Covid facilities) were at 90 per cent, and that an extended period of lockdown may be needed in the UK (and other countries to which it may have spread) to contain the virus.

"We have a serious problem because hospitals in England are seeing more Covid patients now than in the first wave. Many hospitals are at full capacity - last week 44 ambulances had to be re-directed to remote facilities because there were no beds at local hospitals," he explained.

The UK has begun inoculating its population (with the Pfizer vaccine) against the Covid virus, but the mutant strain has raised fears it could be immune to the drugs. Dr Nagpaul said early scientific advice said they should be effective, and that the priority now was to increase vaccination efforts.

He also stressed that measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus remained the same - these include maintaining social distance, using face masks and washing hands regularly.

Today the Indian government said the mutated strain had not, so far, been detected in the country.

However, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO), told NDTV Monday the strain may be present in several countries, without its authorities being aware.

Last week Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan urged people not to panic over the new UK strain, and said the situation is under control. "At this time, I would say, don't get hassled with imaginary situations... The government is fully alert," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×