[ad_1]
At a time when the start of coronavirus vaccination is imminent in many countries, including Greece, with a ray of hope on the horizon, a new strain of the virus, found in Britain, is again causing concern in the world. community.
The VUI-202012/01 variant is spreading at speed, which is 70% more contagious, as announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his dramatic speech, during which he announced tough new measures for London and the South of England.
Along with the UK, the same Covid-19 virus mutation has also been detected in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia, and the World Health Organization has asked its members in Europe to “tighten their controls.”
Consultations in the EU on this issue are ongoing. On Sunday afternoon (20/12) a teleconference was held between the associates of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, with representatives of the Member States to assess the situation. At the same time, the German presidency convened a meeting of the crisis management mechanism committee at 12 noon Greek time on Monday (12/21).
According to the WHO, in addition to “preliminary indications that the mutation could be more contagious”, the mutation “could also affect the effectiveness of certain diagnostic methods”, always according to “preliminary information”.
Instead, there is no “evidence of a change in severity of disease”, even if this problem is being investigated.
“In Europe, where transmission is high and widespread, countries must intensify their control and prevention processes,” he said.
At the global level, WHO recommends that “all countries increase their capacities for sequencing the Sars-Cov-2 virus when possible and share data internationally, especially if the same problem mutations are detected.”
Scientists now have to grapple with concerns about the impact of the new variant, especially whether it will lead to an increase in cases of severe Covid disease or, indeed, fewer cases. The other big question is whether the new variant will be able to circumvent the protection offered by the Covid-19 vaccines, which are already being made in Britain and will be launched in other European countries in the coming days.
7-day quarantine for travelers from Great Britain
The new strain of coronavirus has prompted several countries to suspend flights from Britain. In particular, since midnight on Sunday they cut their air connections with Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Saudi Arabia, while Austria and Sweden plan to continue . In fact, Belgium also announced the cessation of flights and the termination of the rail connection.
The decision to cut air connections could be taken by the entire European Union, a German government source said on Sunday night, adding that European Union countries are in talks to formulate a common position on maritime connections and terrestrial. with the UK.
In Greece, the Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management, Nikos Hardalias, announced that as of 06:00 today a 7-day quarantine is in force for travelers from the United Kingdom. Specifically, as of Monday at 6 in the morning the measure of seven days of home isolation came into force, instead of the three days that applies to arrivals from any other country.
It is highlighted that this new measure is complementary to the existing ones, that is, the obligation of all travelers to have a negative molecular test (PCR) of 72 hours continues to apply, while they will continue to undergo a mandatory test upon arrival in the country.
Read the news from Greece and the world, with the reliability and validity of News247.gr
[ad_2]
