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The new strain of Covid-19, which has become the reason for the latest measures in Britain and the EU, has been detected in Belgium. This was confirmed by the spokesman for the national anti-epidemic headquarters Yves van Latem, quoted by local media.
He said the new strain of the virus had been “in circulation” in Belgium since at least September. According to him, so far there is not enough data to affirm that the new strain is more contagious or more dangerous. Van Latem is convinced that the vaccines developed so far will be useful against the new variant of the virus.
Belgium is one of the countries that yesterday they closed their borders to and from Great Britain. According to the Belgian authorities, several mutations in the Covid-19 virus have been found in the country, and this may be one of the explanations for the increase in the number of infected since the beginning of autumn.
All citizens over the age of 12 who arrive in Belgium after December 25, 2020 and do not have permanent resident status must present a certificate of negative coronavirus test taken no more than 48 hours prior to arrival. This was announced by the press center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The control will be carried out at the time of verification and boarding of the flights with final destination Belgium.
The obligation to present a Passenger Location Form completed before arrival, which is completed and sent through the Internet link HTTPS://TRAVEL.INFO-CORONAVIRUS.BE/PUBLIC-HEALTH-, is still valid for all Arrivals.
FORM-LOCATOR-PASSENGER. If you complete the form correctly, you will receive a confirmation code in the form of a text message, to be presented at check-in and boarding.
Australia also announced It has identified cases of a rapidly spreading new strain of coronavirus found in Britain, and China’s Hong Kong and India Special Administrative Region has said it will temporarily suspend flights from the UK, Reuters reported.
Two people traveling from the UK to the Australian state of New South Wales were diagnosed with the new strain of the virus, which Britain says could be 70 percent more contagious.
The two are in quarantine at a hotel and the reported sharp rise in infections from Sydney is unrelated, authorities said.
On December 14, British Health Minister Matt Hancock announced that British scientists had discovered a new mutant variant of the coronavirus, which may be linked to the rapid spread of the disease in south-east England. He also said that based on preliminary analysis, this variant is spreading the fastest of all known strains.
On December 19, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that preliminary data for the new strain could be 70 percent more contagious, adding that British experts have yet to find confirmation of the hypothesis that the strain leads to a higher mortality.
