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He and one other person had returned from Britain in recent days and had landed in Rome by plane. The patient is now in quarantine.
Austria imposes landing ban for flights from Britain
Several EU countries, including Austria, had already announced on Sunday that they would ban flights from Britain due to the new variant of the corona virus. In Austria, a regulation must be issued. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it on Sunday after the Ministry of Health. “Swift measures are the order of the day in this dangerous situation,” Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) said, prompting Austria to impose a landing ban on all flights from Britain.
“We must do everything possible to prevent this dangerous mutation of the virus from being introduced to us,” Schallenberg argued. “We have already informed the UK that we have to take this drastic measure to protect our people. Other European countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy, have already taken similar measures today. The mutation shows the great danger that continues to exist. this virus. “
The Vienna Ministry of Health emphasized that there are currently strict requirements: Britain is seen as a state with a higher risk of infection, so there is a quarantine requirement for travelers. A free ten-day quarantine trial is possible after at least the fifth day.
Early Sunday morning, the Netherlands imposed a ban on air travel with UK passengers until 1 January. At Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, connections to and from London were canceled on Sunday, as the international airport announced on its website on Sunday. Schiphol is an important center of Western Europe.
The Dutch government justified its move with a recommendation from the RIVM Institute for the Environment and Health to limit the introduction of this UK strain of virus as much as possible by restricting or controlling travel movements from the UK as much as possible.
A virus with the variant described in the UK had already been identified in a random sample in the Netherlands in early December, he said. Following the report from Great Britain, this case will be investigated and further examined who was affected, how the infection occurred, and whether related cases are known.
Belgium will also cut flight and train connections from Britain starting at midnight, a government representative in Brussels announced on Sunday. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on VRT television channel that the suspension of flight and train connections would apply for at least 24 hours. A similar step is being considered in Germany.
- Video: How dangerous is the CoV mutation really in the UK? Günther Mayer, head of the science department at ZIB, responds:
70 percent more contagious
Due to the rapid spread of a new variant of the corona virus in Britain, the British government had imposed a new closure for the capital London, among other places. The recently discovered variant is up to 70 percent more contagious than the previously known form, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday. But there is no evidence that vaccines against the mutation are less effective.
“There is still a lot we don’t know. But there is no evidence that the new variant causes more or more serious disease,” Johnson said. A higher mortality rate for the VUI2020 / 12/01 virus variant has not yet been determined. The government’s top scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, emphasized that in December 60 percent of new infections in London affected the new variant. “It is spreading rapidly and is about to become the dominant line,” he said.
Due to the spread, the government tightened restrictions on the crown in London, for example: Christmas parties with family and friends are now canceled for millions of people. “If the virus changes its method of attack, we will have to change our method of defense,” Johnson said. “Without these measures, the signs suggest, the number of infections will skyrocket, hospitals will be overwhelmed and thousands more will lose their lives.”
“Sacrificing the opportunity to see our loved ones this Christmas”
Instead of three levels of corona warning, there will be four in the future; the highest will include other regions in the southeast in addition to the capital. There, residents can only leave their homes for important reasons, such as going to the doctor or going to work. Even at Christmas she shouldn’t be meeting members of other households, Johnson stressed. “We are sacrificing the opportunity to see our loved ones this Christmas for a better chance of saving their lives so that we can see them at Christmas in the future.”
All non-essential businesses and other facilities, such as gyms, hair salons, movie theaters, and beauty salons, must close. Residents of the highest level 4 of Corona cannot leave this zone. The BRC trade association warned of dire consequences for the economy. “For companies, the coming and going of government is anything but useful,” said Helen Dickinson, director of the association. The decision is made in the middle of the most important phase of retail before Christmas.
About 27,000 new corona cases were tallied in Britain on Saturday, so there have been more than two million infections in the country so far. Around 83,000 people have so far died with or from the Covid-19 lung disease. The government had started mass vaccination a good ten days ago. So far, around 350,000 people across the country have received funding from the German pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer, as Johnson said.
England’s chief physician Chris Whitty also warned of the new form of the corona virus. Studies have shown that this virus can spread faster than the previous variant. The corresponding results have been sent to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO calls for stricter measures
The WHO has called on its European member states to toughen their corona measures in light of a new variant of the corona virus in Britain. “In Europe, where transmission is high and widespread, countries must intensify their control and prevention measures,” a WHO Europe spokeswoman said on Sunday.