NEW DELHI: The new strain of coronavirus, said to be 70 percent more transmissible, has left countries scrambling to announce travel bans even as the world approaches the Christmas and New Years holidays.
Amid fears over the highly infectious new mutant strain of the novel coronavirus, several countries have imposed travel bans on the UK.
India suspends flights to the UK
India suspended all flights to the UK due to concerns about the new strain of the virus, hours after Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said authorities are keeping a close eye on it.
“Taking into account the prevailing situation in the UK, the Government of India has decided that all flights from the UK to India will be temporarily suspended until 11:59 PM on December 31. This suspension will begin before 11:59 p.m. on December 22, “read a statement from the civil aviation ministry.
Alluding to the emergence of the mutated variant of the coronavirus in the UK, Vardhan had said that there is no need to panic as the government is vigilant on the matter.
Earlier, the Ministry of Health called an emergency meeting of its top advisers to discuss the emergence of the mutated strain. The Joint Monitoring Group is chaired by the Director General of Health Services. Experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) and others are also part of the emergency meeting.
UK identifies new strain of novel coronavirus
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that London could be on lockdown for months as it will be “very difficult” to keep the highly infectious mutant strain of the novel coronavirus under control until vaccines are given. The new stricter restrictions will be reviewed on December 30.
Following Britain’s announcement, the rest of the European Union cut travel ties with the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of cargo in and out of Britain. EU officials must hold a meeting at 1000 GMT to coordinate their response.
The strain, which is also prevalent in South Africa, appears to be very prolific, causing 60 percent of new infections in London. However, the virus, labeled VUI-202012/0 by the Covid-19 Genomics UK consortium (COG-UK), does not appear to be more virulent or affect the efficacy of the vaccine.
New strain cases found in other countries
A case of the new variant of the virus has been found in the Netherlands.
The new strain of the virus was also found in a person in Italy who recently returned from Britain, the Health Ministry said.
Amid fears over the highly infectious new mutant strain of the novel coronavirus, several countries have imposed travel bans on the UK.
India suspends flights to the UK
India suspended all flights to the UK due to concerns about the new strain of the virus, hours after Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said authorities are keeping a close eye on it.
“Taking into account the prevailing situation in the UK, the Government of India has decided that all flights from the UK to India will be temporarily suspended until 11:59 PM on December 31. This suspension will begin before 11:59 p.m. on December 22, “read a statement from the civil aviation ministry.
Alluding to the emergence of the mutated variant of the coronavirus in the UK, Vardhan had said that there is no need to panic as the government is vigilant on the matter.
Earlier, the Ministry of Health called an emergency meeting of its top advisers to discuss the emergence of the mutated strain. The Joint Monitoring Group is chaired by the Director General of Health Services. Experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) and others are also part of the emergency meeting.
UK identifies new strain of novel coronavirus
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that London could be on lockdown for months as it will be “very difficult” to keep the highly infectious mutant strain of the novel coronavirus under control until vaccines are given. The new stricter restrictions will be reviewed on December 30.
Following Britain’s announcement, the rest of the European Union cut travel ties with the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of cargo in and out of Britain. EU officials must hold a meeting at 1000 GMT to coordinate their response.
The strain, which is also prevalent in South Africa, appears to be very prolific, causing 60 percent of new infections in London. However, the virus, labeled VUI-202012/0 by the Covid-19 Genomics UK consortium (COG-UK), does not appear to be more virulent or affect the efficacy of the vaccine.
New strain cases found in other countries
A case of the new variant of the virus has been found in the Netherlands.
The new strain of the virus was also found in a person in Italy who recently returned from Britain, the Health Ministry said.
Countries apply travel bans
- Saudi Arabia has stopped all international flights for a week. The ban, which went into effect Sunday, also applies to passenger entry into the Kingdom through land and sea ports, Gulf News quoted the source as saying.
- Senior health officials in the United States said authorities are “very carefully” scrutinizing the variant of the virus spreading in the UK, indicating that a UK travel ban is currently not envisaged.
- Norway announced the immediate suspension of flights from Great Britain on Monday for a minimum of 48 hours.
- All passenger flights from the UK to the Netherlands have been banned until January 1, the Dutch government said.
- Israel said it was banning entry to foreign nationals traveling from Britain, Denmark and South Africa.
- Several European nations, including Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, have banned flights to and from the UK.
- In Australia, a new coronavirus outbreak on Sydney’s North Beaches involving 83 confirmed cases last week prompted multiple border closures between states. Australia prided itself on a tough response to a pandemic that included the closure of international borders and the order of closures, resulting in a low death rate by global standards.
- Britain’s neighbor Ireland is expected to restrict flights and ferries. Eurostar announced that it would cancel trains between London, Brussels and Amsterdam from Monday, but trains on the London-Paris route will continue to operate.
- Scotland also effectively closed the border with England.
- France said on Sunday it will stop all travel from Britain for 48 hours starting at midnight Sunday, including travel “related to the transport of goods by road, air, sea or rail.”
- Germany will halt all air links with the United Kingdom starting at midnight on Sunday, with the ban initially scheduled to last until December 31. Cargo flights will be exempt.
- Anyone already in Italy who has recently traveled from Britain should be tested for the coronavirus, the statement added.
- Canada banned all UK flights for 72 hours. Those who had already arrived from Britain on Sunday would be subject to secondary examinations and “advanced measures.”
- The three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have stopped all passenger flights from the UK. Lithuania will still allow flights to depart to the UK, while Estonia and Latvia have stopped them as well.
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