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Federal government restricts travel to Britain: EU crisis talks
| Reading time: 3 minutes
Due to the new variant of the virus, the federal government wants to ban air traffic from Great Britain from midnight. The whole EU is preparing to take quick steps. The federal police also responded.
METERWith flight bans and border closures, Europe is preparing for a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the mutated pathogen with EU leaders on Sunday. The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), and the President of the Council, Charles Michel, participated in the conversation, as announced by the Elysee Palace in Paris. The Spanish government is calling for coordinated EU action due to the allegedly most contagious variant of the virus.
The federal government wants to restrict travel options with Great Britain and South Africa. A government spokesman said Sunday that a corresponding regulation is currently being drafted. First, it reported “Bild”. According to the report, Britain’s air traffic should be banned from midnight until January 6.
Also, all passenger traffic to and from Great Britain should end from the beginning of the week, including by sea and rail! Then the Eurotunnel would be sealed.
The Federal Police also warned on Twitter before traveling to Britain: “Air traffic may be suspended. The reason for this is a corona virus mutation! “A spokesman for the Federal Home Office wrote on Twitter that the federal police had already been instructed to” systematically monitor “travelers from Great Britain and South Africa.
Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria had already announced similar measures.
The London government warned on Sunday that the new variant of the coronavirus was “out of control.” According to initial findings, the new virus mutation is “up to 70 percent more contagious” than the previously widespread form, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put it. However, based on previous knowledge, it is not more deadly. There is also no evidence that the effectiveness of vaccines is affected by the new strain of the virus, Johnson said.
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach called for air traffic to be restricted to Germany. Although it has not yet been finally clarified whether the faster spread of this variant of the virus is due to increased infectivity, Lauterbach told the Berlin cup.
He thinks it’s “likely to be more contagious.” Therefore, as a precautionary measure, entry to Germany should also be restricted. However, he does not believe that the new variant also influences the success of vaccination.
Virologist Alexander Kekulé de Halle called for the immediate stop of flights from Great Britain to Germany. Kekulé said “MDR Aktuell” with a flight ban there “may still be a chance” to prevent the spread. It is clear that the mutation is much more contagious.
WHO calls for stricter crown measures in Europe
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also called on its European member states to tighten their crown measures. “In Europe, where transmission is high and widespread, countries must intensify their control and prevention measures,” a WHO Europe spokeswoman said on Sunday.
Outside the UK, eleven cases of the virus mutation have been reported so far, which is said to be significantly more contagious than the previous virus – nine in Denmark and one in the Netherlands and Australia.
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