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Dozens of countries have announced in recent hours that they will suspend flights to and from the United Kingdom due to growing concern about the new highly contagious strain of coronavirus that has appeared in the south of the island, DPA reported.
The Netherlands were the first to announce the ban, followed almost immediately by Belgium, Austria, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Ireland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Exceptionally, three planes from Great Britain landed last night in Bulgaria after the entry ban from the UK to our country.
“Our aim is to protect the state borders and the health of the people until the vaccine arrives, so that they can acquire immunity,” Minister Angelov told reporters at Sofia airport, who together with Interior Minister Hristo Terziiski, inspected compliance with order.
An exception was made for all three flights, as Bulgarian citizens were already at the airports and it was impossible to “cancel” them, Minister Angelov explained. Everyone entering from the UK will be quarantined for 10 days.
“What we know about the new strain of the virus is that it is transmitted faster and that it is affected by the new vaccine, which will be available in Bulgaria on December 27,” added Minister Angelov.
Urgent EU meeting on the new strain
Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, has convened representatives of other member states for an emergency meeting on the new strain of coronavirus.
Berlin is launching the EU’s Integrated Political Crisis Response Mechanism (IPCR), said the spokesman for the German presidency, Sebastian Fischer. The agenda is to coordinate the EU’s response to the new strain of the virus found in Britain, he said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls an emergency meeting this morning to discuss the state of a country’s international air services in light of the wave of flight bans to and from Britain announced by many countries to stop the spread of the new strain of coronavirus. , spread widely across the country, Reuters reported, citing a spokeswoman for the prime minister.
“The prime minister will chair the COBRA emergency response group meeting … Additional meetings are currently taking place on the issue, which will continue tomorrow in order to prepare robust response plans,” the spokeswoman said.
The British government has announced even stricter restrictions in London and southern England to limit the spread of the new strain of coronavirus.
The control of travel to and from European countries is the responsibility of national governments, but the European Commission can coordinate, facilitate the exchange of information and make recommendations, notes the DPA.
Flights stopped
Greece is introducing a mandatory 7-day quarantine for all arrivals from the UK due to the complicated epidemiological situation there, its civil protection service announced. Cyprus will also be quarantined, but within 14 days all arrivals from the UK.
France has banned all travel to and from Great Britain, forcing the closure of Britain’s largest ferry port at Dover on the other side of the English Channel, forming a huge queue of cars and passengers hoping to take even the last ferry to the mainland. Trains under the English Channel to France, Belgium and the Netherlands were also stopped. Germany only allows cargo planes arriving from the island to its territory.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone with EU leaders last night, seeking a common approach from member states to the new situation. Germany, which holds the presidency of the EU, is calling today an emergency meeting with representatives of other member states on the new strain of coronavirus. The European Commission is in contact with the Member States to increase the flow of information and coordinate joint efforts.
Turkey has banned flights not only from Britain, but also from the Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa, where isolated cases of the new strain of the virus have also been found. Likewise, Israel has closed its skies to aircraft arriving from Britain, Denmark and South Africa, saying it will add other countries to the list if necessary.
There was a reaction far beyond Europe. Canada, Chile, Argentina and Colombia have also banned flights to and from the UK. Chile will not even allow foreigners who have been in the UK in the last 14 days.
Of the Arab countries, Morocco has announced the cessation of air services with Great Britain. And Saudi Arabia has taken the most radical measure, cutting off all international air links with the outside world for a week “until the nature of the new strain of coronavirus becomes clear,” and the ban could be extended for another week. Aircraft arriving in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from abroad are so far allowed to leave the country.
It is also temporarily prohibited to enter the country through land and sea entry points for one week. Saudi nationals returning from abroad are required to isolate themselves for two weeks and then perform two PCR tests five days ago. And those who arrived in the country in the last three months are required to be tested for antibodies against the coronavirus.
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