Rules to stop coronavirus variant stoke chaos at Indian airports

Passengers flying into India’s biggest airports on Wednesday complained of long waits and confusion as authorities sought to impose rules to try to stop the spread of a new more transmissible variant of the coronavirus. Like many countries, India has suspended flights from Britain, where cases have soared because of the variant. People arriving from Britain before the ban came into force on Wednesday were being tested, including Kamini Saraswat whose plane landed in New Delhi just before midnight. Despite pre-booking a test, her turn came nine hours after arrival and she said she was still stuck at the airport waiting for the result. “There is no clear communication,” said Saraswat, 28. “There is no social distancing.” Cellphone footage taken by Saraswat showed long lines of passengers and crowds packed together around desks to get themselves tested. India’s hardest-hit state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, has taken additional measures, quarantining most passengers arriving from Europe and the Middle East for a week. Federal authorities have said that all required measures will be undertaken but have given few details of how the extra checks will be staffed. India’s plan to track down and screen all arrivals from Britain since Nov. 25 is also getting stretched.<br/>