Colombia has barred non-resident arrivals from India through the end of June in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variant B.1.617, the health ministry said on Friday.
The restrictions came into force on Thursday, although travelers who were already in the air or on their journey to Colombia are exempt.
The variant’s potentially higher rates of transmission motivated Colombia’s decision, the ministry in a statement.
The B.1.617 variant is believed by some experts to be even more transmissible than the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in Britain.
India’s hospitals and crematoria have been overwhelmed by a second wave in coronavirus cases.
It is widely accepted official figures of more than 25 million cases in the Asian country grossly underestimate the real impact of the epidemic, with some experts saying infections and deaths could be up to 10 times higher.
Colombia’s restrictions apply to travelers who have been in India within the last 14 days or who had a connecting…