Doctors are finally going home. Parents are coming over to embrace their children after months of separation. Every individual in their own capacity has paid a price during the pandemic, especially the ethnic minority doctors who have selflessly served the NHS during its fight with Covid-19 despite repeated institutional racism and adverse conditions. Air ticket prices are all-time high, RT-PCR cost is synonymous to the stock market prices and yet, reuniting with loved ones is a logistic nightmare for many Indians in the UK.
“I have taken a two-month unpaid leave to travel to India to see my mother, who has been alone since January 2020. I came in spite of the travel ban and am now able to travel back with her,” Mudita, a doctor told Asian Voice.
When asked how challenging it for her was to get that long a leave, she said, “Difficult because I'm a Consultant Rheumatologist with a long waiting list. I had to arrange for a locum to cover my clinics and shifts, otherwise, the waiting list would have been worse.”
Mudita added, “I came to India on 27th June. India was on the red list at that time. I preferred travelling business class due to the high Covid risk. I booked a return for about £1200.”
“I did a Covid RT-PCR test 72 hours prior to boarding which cost £45 after discount from airlines. The results were uploaded onto the Air Suvidha website, and a declaration form had to be filled both for the airlines and the Delhi airport. On arrival at Delhi, the RT-PCR was repeated, and I was required to wait for the results before taking the connecting flight.
“I am flying back with my mother who was unable to travel earlier due to travel restrictions. She is fully vaccinated and has Indian citizenship. She is on a 10year visa. She has a one-way ticket as plans are uncertain.
“We will both have Covid tests within 72 hours boarding and then on 2nd & 8th day after arrival. My mother will require home quarantine while I will not,” Mudita told the newsweekly.
Emotionally “charged” (Pun intended)
Dr Partha Kar’s mother is already preparing a menu of what she’s going to feed him once he lands after a year of being apart.
A very excited and emotionally charged Dr Kar told Asian Voice, “I’m very emotional. I Mum and dad, they're in their 80s and live alone. I think it's been a struggle for both of them. We talk to each other nearly every day, as much as possible, and I think the second wave that happened in India was very tough for them. So as soon as India went on the amber list, I took the opportunity to book my travel, and I’m planning to have seven days or so over there.”
Commenting on the pricing and uncertainty of air travel, Dr Kar said, “There's been a massive jump in ticket prices, no question about it. You've got options like Air India, as well as Emirates to go and take a break via Dubai. But Air India has been quite unpredictable. I booked a ticket, but the airline suddenly cancelled the return in a day.”
He added, “There are only so many holidays for us and there is a lot of confusion regarding the rules. But I think all is superseded by the fact that I'll be able to go and see my parents. So excited and really looking forward to it.”
Vaccine woes
Speaking to Asian Voice, a health care professional, Viju Ravindran said that she last saw her family in India in October 2019 and hopes to see them again in 2022. She confirmed that the tickets are expensive. “My brother looks after my dad. I do miss them! I don’t think they can visit until the UK recognises Indian vaccines,” Viju said. In her area, an RT PCR test is costing between £80 to £120. She also added, “If I visit them, I have to be sure that I have enough annual leave to self-isolate in case rules change.” Asian Voice asked her whether her employers will cooperate with her and sanction her leave according to her wish, Viju said, “Yes, they will cooperate.”
Another NHS worker, Aamir Tarique has been living in Bedford and his family is in Delhi. Like many people, we spoke to, Aamir too last saw his family in October 2019. He hopes to see them again in winter 2021. Speaking to us, he said, “I’m keeping an eye on flights and prices almost weekly and looking at the process. My younger brother is with my father but he leaves early morning and comes home late. I will have to go alone as my 13-year-old son is not vaccinated.”
Radha Sundaram, an ICU medic, who will be soon visiting her parents in India, also agreed that tickets are more expensive than pre-pandemic. She said that an RT-PCR test would cost about 150 pounds more, besides the additional cost of testing pre and post. Speaking to the newsweekly, she said, “My parents are not keen on travel but the enormity of paperwork, wearing a mask in a long-haul flight with a face shield and further paperwork in transit airports would need to be considered. Very excited and relieved to be able to go.”
50 per cent higher price
Saurabh Das who lives in Beckenham hasn’t met his parents since October 2019. They live in Patna, Bihar and are double jabbed. He said, “It has been a tough 18 months of isolation for our parents. They have now missed out o two summer visits from them to the UK and I Christmas visit from us. It has been a very anxious time for me given the distressing second wave in India. I have lost several extended family members in the most recent wave there so the risk to life is very real.”
Saurabh seconded that the airlines are charging a bomb. “The tickets to India are exorbitant. The day after the new amber status was revealed for India, prices were more than 50% higher than the pre-pandemic levels. Although no one from my family is planning to travel here in the short term, I have heard of anecdotes from other friends here about difficulties getting visa appointments and exorbitant ticket prices from India as well, Das told us.
He is not planning to travel until December. “I will not book my tickets until the risk/virus picture is clearer both in India and the UK. There is a lot of uncertainty currently about the next wave of the virus. My plan is to stay put in the UK for now and avoid any overseas travel if I can,” he added.
There is news of soaring rates of RT-PCR tests in the UK. Sharing the information he has, Das said, “RT- PCR test starts from £39 to £130 in my area again depending on where you get it done and how quickly you want the results.”
How red list ruined plans
“I’ll be seeing my mom after two years,” Kunal Mahajan, who last visited his 69-year-old mother in India during July-Aug 2019, told Asian Voice. Her plan was to travel to the UK last year, but then the pandemic began, and air routes were shut.
Kunal would have met his mother sooner in London in mid/end-April, while he was waiting for her second dose to happen to book her ticket. Kunal also mentioned that the price of tickets is nearly double the usual price of return tickets. His mother can stay the usual 180 days in the UK, so her return ticket is booked for February next year.
“The same week she got her second dose, India was placed on a red list, giving me no time to book her ticket. This was more shattering than last year as this sent a lot of our plans out of the window. It’s been 5 months since then painstakingly waiting for India to move a notch lower. So, I didn't delay much after last week's news of India moving to Amber list, though air tickets had already shot up in price. We now want her to come and join us and spend quality time with grandchildren and us all and make up for the loneliness experienced the last year,” he told the newsweekly.
Kunal added, “It was emotionally more strenuous for my mother, who stays in Delhi alone, as my father passed away several years ago. But we made sure to connect via video chats often so she could be in touch with my wife and kids. We know it was tougher for her as during lockdowns in Delhi no one was allowed to visit anyone which meant she had extended periods of loneliness.”
Kunal’s mother is fully vaccinated against Covid-19. “She's had both her doses of the Astra Zeneca known as Covishield in India - but there's lack of clarity if that exempts her from the quarantine period,” he said.
With hefty paperwork, confusion over the vaccine, and uncertainty in red, amber and green-list countries, families and loved ones are reunited, even at a heavy price that burns a hole in their pocket.
