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- The Netherlands has banned flights from the UK over a new strain of the coronavirus.
- The ban will remain in effect until January 1.
- The new strain is believed to be 70% more infectious.
The Netherlands has banned flights carrying UK passengers after Dutch authorities found the first case of the most infectious new strain of coronavirus circulating in England.
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The Dutch government, in a statement early Sunday, said the ban will remain in effect until January 1.
“An infectious mutation of the Covid-19 virus is circulating in the UK. It is said to spread more easily and quickly and is more difficult to detect,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The Dutch public health body, RIVM, therefore “recommends that any introduction of this strain of virus from the UK be limited as much as possible by limiting and / or controlling passenger movements.”
The ministry said a case study in the Netherlands “in early December revealed a virus with the described variant” in the UK.
Experts were looking at how the infection happened and if there were any related cases, he added.
Five week lockdown
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet ordered a ban on flights from the UK as a “precautionary measure”, the ministry said, adding that the Dutch government is reviewing other modes of transport.
“Over the next few days, together with other EU member states, the government will explore the possibilities of further limiting the risk of the new strain of the virus being brought in from the UK,” he added.
The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential stores closed to stem the rise of the virus.
The ban on flights to the UK comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and scientists announced on Saturday that the new strain of coronavirus identified in the country is up to 70% more infectious.
But Johnson said the new variant is not believed to be more deadly and that the vaccines should still be effective.
The British Prime Minister also said that London and South East England, which are currently at the highest level of a three-tier system of rules, would now be placed at a new Tier 4.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was in close contact with British officials and would update the public “as we learn more about the characteristics of this variant of the virus and its implications.”
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