[ad_1]
- Europe rushed on Monday to provide a coordinated response to a new strain of the coronavirus that has led to an international suspension of travel links with the United Kingdom.
- EU ambassadors will meet on Tuesday to try to nail down a unified approach and figure out how to finally lift border restrictions with Britain.
- More than two dozen countries, from India to Argentina, suspended the flight from the United Kingdom, offering a sad reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
Europe struggled on Monday to provide a coordinated response to a new strain of the coronavirus that has caused an international suspension of travel links with the United Kingdom, while the United States saw its own number of cases above 18 million.
With travelers in Europe facing a nightmarish Christmas season, EU ambassadors were to meet on Tuesday to try to nail down a unified approach and figure out how to finally lift border restrictions with Britain, including imposing a testing requirement on all. the arrivals.
More than two dozen countries, from India to Argentina, suspended the flight from the United Kingdom, offering a sad reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
World Health Organization chief of emergencies Michael Ryan tried to temper the alarm by stressing that the situation was not “out of control” shortly after a British minister used those exact words to describe the new spread. of the new variant.
While experts say there is no evidence that the UK variant of the virus, one of several mutations, is more lethal or will affect the impact of vaccines, it may be up to 70 percent more transmissible, according to early data. .
Concern over the mutated strain sent European stocks, oil prices and the British pound plummeting and changes in transportation unleashed chaos for commuters and truckers ahead of Christmas.
“It’s inhuman not to warn people anymore. My boyfriend is in Turkey, I want to go back to him,” said Beth Gabriel Ware, a 23-year-old British woman who recently came home to visit her parents, but is now among those who they stayed there longer than expected.
Thousands of people continue to die daily from the virus that has claimed at least 1.69 million lives since it first appeared in China late last year.
‘Strong’ UK supply chains
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a crisis meeting after France announced a 48-hour lockdown on both people and goods, just as companies rush to move goods before Britain finally abandons the commercial structures of the EU on January 1.
However, Johnson insisted that supply chains were “strong and robust”, with delays affecting only a “small percentage of food entering the UK”.
“Everyone can keep shopping,” he told a news conference.
The UK has already started rolling out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the EU will soon follow after formally approving the jab on Monday.
The launch will begin across the bloc on December 27, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said.
EU regulators previously noted that there was no evidence to suggest that the vaccine would not be effective against the new variant.
In the United States, 78-year-old President-elect Joe Biden received a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine live on television to boost Americans’ confidence in vaccines.
The UK strain has also been detected in small numbers in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands, according to the WHO.
Another variant with similar genetic mutations has been linked to widespread transmission in South Africa.
Currently “there is no evidence to indicate any change in the severity of the disease, but this is also under investigation,” the WHO said.
In the pandemic’s first border closure between Scandinavian neighbors, Sweden banned travelers from neighboring Denmark, in addition to the UK, because of the variance.
On the other hand, Luxembourg decided to join the European neighbors who are tightening virus lockdowns after Christmas.
However, Hungary and Slovenia said they would relax some rules on holidays to allow families to reunite.
While Russia, Spain, India and others joined the list of countries banning flights from the UK on Monday, Australia and the US have been on hold.
Americans, who still suffer the world’s highest death toll, were bracing for some relief after lawmakers struck a deal Sunday on a nearly $ 900 billion Covid-19 financial package.
The measure, which Congress is expected to pass on Monday, would include aid for vaccine distribution and logistics, additional unemployment benefits of $ 300 per week and a new round of $ 600 stimulus checks.
“People will see this money early next week,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Nonetheless, Wall Street stocks opened lower as concerns over the UK strain of the virus dampened optimism about the stimulus bill.
Do you want to know more about this topic? Sign up to receive one of 33 News24 newsletters to receive the information you want in your inbox. There are special newsletters available to subscribers.
