The new strain of coronavirus that was discovered in the UK has forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce another shutdown despite plans to ease restrictions over the Christmas period. The new strain can reportedly be passed from one person to another much faster than the old one and could even compromise vaccines if they are not effective against it.
The UK currently has 2,046,161 confirmed coronavirus infections and the death toll stands at 67,503, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Since the discovery, several countries have suspended flights, trains and other modes of transport from the UK for fear of another widespread virus crisis.
These are the countries that have done it:
1. Poland: A Polish government spokesman announced via Twitter that flights from the UK would be suspended from Monday for fear of a virus.
2. France: France announced on Sunday that it will suspend all travel from Britain for 48 hours starting at midnight. This includes the transport of goods by road, air, sea or rail. Only unaccompanied transport of goods would be allowed within French borders.
3. Germany: German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the country would suspend all flights from the UK for 48 hours starting at midnight Sunday. Only cargo flights would be exempt from this measure.
4. Italy: Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said he had signed a decree that will block flights from England and ban those who have stayed there for the past 14 days from entering Italy. A person has already been infected with the new strain.
5. Ireland: Ireland said in a statement that all flights arriving from Britain after midnight Sunday will be banned for at least 48 hours.
6. Netherlands: The Dutch government has said that all passenger flights from Britain to the Netherlands will be banned until January 1. The country has reported one person with the new strain.
7. Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all flights from the UK would be suspended for 72 hours and instructed those who recently returned from the country to take advanced security measures.
8. Iran: Iran’s Health Ministry ordered the suspension of flights from Britain for two weeks, according to the state news agency IRNA.
9. Israel: A joint statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the Health Ministry said Israel was suspending all flights from the UK, Denmark and South Africa.
10. Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia announced Sunday that it would halt all flights and suspend entry through its land and sea ports for at least a week, with the option of extending it for a further week. Those arriving from Europe or anywhere the strain was detected were instructed to self-isolate for two weeks and undergo testing.
11. Kuwait: Kuwait added Britain to a list of “high risk” nations and banned the flights.
12. El Salvador: President Nayib Bukele announced via Twitter that no one who had been to Britain or South Africa in the past 30 days would not be allowed to enter the country.
13. Argentina: Argentina suspended all flights from the UK, the government said in a statement on Sunday. The last flight would arrive on Monday.
14. Chile: Chile announced that it would suspend all flights from the United Kingdom from Tuesday. A government statement also said that anyone without a residence permit or who has been in Britain for the past two weeks will not be able to enter the country.
15. Morocco: Morocco has banned all flights to the UK as of Sunday.
16. Belgium: Belgium has banned flights from the UK for 24 hours.
17. Finland: Finland has suspended flights from the UK for two weeks.
18. Switzerland: Switzerland has banned flights from Britain until further notice.
19. Bulgaria: Bulgaria has suspended flights from the UK from midnight Sunday until January 31.
20. Romania: Romania has banned all flights to and from the UK for two weeks, starting Monday afternoon.
21. Croatia: Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said the country would “temporarily suspend air passenger traffic from the UK for 48 hours.”
22. Rest of Europe: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have suspended flights from the UK.
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