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meA new variant of the coronavirus, which is increasing the number of infections in Britain, is causing concern shortly before Christmas. Several states close the borders to the people of Great Britain for a short period.
Numerous EU countries, including Germany and France, announced that they would no longer temporarily allow passenger flights from Britain to land on Monday. The Eurotunnel between France and Great Britain was also closed.
It is not only in Britain that people are concerned, as a glance at the international press shows. The new variant has already been tested in some countries, such as Italy and the Netherlands.
“La Repubblica”, Italy: A cage of fear due to the mutation of the British crown
“We did not foresee it. Just when the number of infections is decreasing, the unexpected English mutation arrives, which increases the speed of the infection and therefore also the risk and returns us to the cage of fear, which seems not to have ended yet. The dates of the evening war report with numbers of contagion and deaths have become the daily measure of evil, a public test of our resilience, and they squeezed us into a narrow vision, reduced to overnight, as if we were We would have come back unable to go any further. to look up. …
The infectious agent is also a social agent. It has changed our habits, our lifestyle, our interpersonal relationships and has also attacked important components such as work, production, school, commerce and the economy. This has a spatial effect in a travel ban, in the safety distances that indicate that danger can emanate from each of us and from others, in isolation as a final form of defense and separates us from society ”.
“Le Figaro”, France: New Crown Threat Comes from Great Britain
“After this long year of fighting the coronavirus, the end of December should finally have been a happy time. One in which Europe allows the first vaccine against Covid-19 to be released. A vaccine that, fortunately, is not only extremely effective, but is also free of serious side effects. … But the discovery of a new variant of the virus that is spreading like wildfire in southern England … casts a dark shadow at the end of the year.
While there is still much uncertainty about the exact effect of these mutations, many European countries … did not hesitate to suspend transport links with Great Britain. … Will it be enough to prevent the variant from spreading across the continent? Nobody knows. But no one will accuse European countries of having acted decisively in the face of this new potential threat. “
“De Telegraaf”, The Netherlands: The effectiveness of entry bans is questionable
“The advance of a mutated British variant of the coronavirus that is much more contagious raises fears of the worst. So far, there is no evidence that this new variant increases the course of the disease or that vaccines are less effective against it. However, the high level of infectivity is concerning. It is therefore logical that measures are taken to prevent entry from the UK as much as possible. The only question is to what extent this will help after the new variant has already appeared in the Netherlands and some other countries. It’s also unclear how long this mutant crown has hit us. ”
The Times, Great Britain: The coming months will be tough for Great Britain
“Now it will take a Herculean effort in Great Britain to face the next weeks and months. There is no escape: the mutated virus has led most European countries to ban all entry from the UK, be it by train, ship or plane. Police are already on duty to prevent a mass exodus from and around the capital to relatively safe areas. This is a dictatorial move that only the most extreme circumstances can justify. Everyone’s attention must be focused on responsible behavior, combined with the urgent hope that the vaccine developed at Oxford will be approved as soon as possible. If it’s going to be a lonely Christmas, at least a sure one. “
The Guardian, UK: Confidence in authorities has suffered
“The most important way to reduce the appearance of new mutations is to contain the spread of the virus. For the third time in a year, the government refused to face the facts and take the necessary measures until it was too late. These delays have not only lost thousands of lives, but have also shaken the general confidence in the authorities that is necessary to improve compliance. This is all the more frustrating as the introduction of the vaccine offered new hope.
With the risk of contagion increasing, Boris Johnson needs more than ever to implement an effective trace and test system and develop a suitable system to help people isolate themselves. The Prime Minister should also come up with a well-funded plan to keep schools safe. Without these measures, Johnson has no chance of escaping the purgatory of confinement for months. “
“Sunday Times”, Great Britain: Late closing in some parts of England, but correct
Scientists had rightly warned that a Christmas relaxation in January would be followed by an increase in the number of cases, hospital admissions and deaths. The government’s response was to stick to its Christmas calendar even when it was clearly unsustainable. …
As things stand, the government is now doing the right thing, albeit belatedly. We knew that after a hard year we would have a difficult winter. Now it has become even more difficult for millions of people. To do this, we need to be confident that effective vaccines will be widely available in the coming months. We also need confidence in the government’s handling of the crisis. The first seems clear; the second is definitely more difficult. “
