United Kingdom PM Boris Johnson on Tuesday cancelled his visit to India that was scheduled on January 26 for the Republic Day celebrations.
The announcement came due to the raging outbreak of the new coronavirus variant in United Kingdom. Johnson has called for a complete lockdown which could last until mid-February
"The prime minister spoke to Prime Minister Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned," a Downing Street spokesperson said today, as reported by several news outlets.
"In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the prime minister said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus," the spokesperson said, and added, "The Prime Minister said that he hopes to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, and ahead of the UK's G7 Summit that Prime Minister Modi is due to attend as a guest".
Britain has been among the worst hit in the world by the COVID outbreak, with some 2.7 million cases and 75,431 deaths.
