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British Health Minister Matt Hancock said Sunday that the new strain of coronavirus is “out of control.”
In England, more than 20 million people have been confined since this Sunday when strict restrictive measures come into force due to the alarming increase in cases of covid-19, which the British Government links, precisely, with the new strain of the coronavirus.
(We explain: What is known about the new variant of Sars-CoV-2 in the United Kingdom)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed measures on Saturday for London and large areas of southeast England, which as of this Sunday are at risk level 4 -severe-, with the closure of non-essential stores, gyms, hairdressers, as well like the prohibition to go to other areas of the country.
With these rules, the flexible plans that the Government had authorized between December 22 and 28 have also been modified so that families and friends could get together for Christmas.
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For his part, Hancock said it will be very difficult to have the strain under control until “we have distributed the vaccine,” he said. The official added that this strain will have to be dealt with for the next two months.
What is known about the new Sars-CoV-2 variant in the UK?
Hancock said that in recent days British scientists detected “a new variant of coronavirus that may be associated with the faster spread in southern England.”
So far, more than a thousand cases of this new variant have been identified, especially in the south of England, and the British authorities have already notified the World Health Organization (WHO).
Hancock also stated that there is no evidence that the variant has more harmful effects on the health of patients and considered it “very unlikely” that the vaccines developed against COVID lose effectiveness with the new strain.
Scientists have warned that this strain is more infectious and spreads more easily, which could increase the R – the reproductive number of an infectious disease.
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The R is currently across the UK between 1.1 and 1.2, which implies an “exponential” spread of the virus.
The scientific director of the Government, Patrick Vallance, has indicated that the strain – known as VUI 202012/01 – could have its origin in London or Kent (southeast English) in September.
“This new variant is not only advancing rapidly but is becoming the dominant variant,” added.
Europe, on alert, closes flights to the United Kingdom
The Italian Government will suspend flights with the United Kingdom after London has confirmed the appearance of a new variant of the coronavirus, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio announced today.
It is not the only government that decides to restrict flights to the United Kingdom after the appearance of the new strain.
The Government of the Netherlands has also decided to prohibit air passenger traffic with the United Kingdom immediately and for at least ten days, following a recommendation by the Dutch health authorities due to fears of the new variant of the coronavirus detected in the territory British.
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And Spain, for its part, asked the European Union to adopt a coordinated community response to suspend or not flights to the United Kingdom.
France and Germany are other countries that are studying the suspension of air connections to the United Kingdom.
ELTIEMPO.COM
With information from EFE
