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Ireland is prepared to impose travel restrictions on flights and ferries from the UK, Sky News understands.
The ban is understood to have an initial duration of 48 hours before being reviewed during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
An official announcement is expected in the next few hours, and several other countries could soon follow fears of a new variant of the coronavirus spreading through London and south-east England.
Italy, Belgium, Holland and Austria have already confirmed it flight suspensions in and out of Great Britain.
French broadcaster BFMTV reported that a high-level “health defense council” would be held at 4 pm to discuss what measures should be implemented.
Germany is also understood to be planning action, and a German government official told DPA news agency that restrictions on flights from Britain are a “serious option.”
European countries ban travel from the UK
Boris Johnson has put London and much of south-east England, where the new COVID strain is most prevalent, into a Level 4 lockdown over the Christmas period in a bid to get the disease back under control.
At a press conference on Saturday, the prime minister pointed out the new COVID-19 the tension was up 70% more infectious than the original variant.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said six out of 10 infected people in the capital had the new variant.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the country faced a “huge challenge”, adding that the mutation was “out of control” and could see areas trapped at Level 4 until the UK’s most vulnerable have been vaccinated.
Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said the new variant had spread to all regions of England, as well as parts of Scotland and Wales, but in smaller numbers.
He said there was no evidence that it was causing a disproportionate number of hospital admissions.
The Netherlands, which has already seen a case of tension, banned flights from Britain until at least the new year.
Belgium has issued a 24-hour emergency stop for flights and train connections to the country from the UK.
Flights to Italy are also canceled.
And Austria also plans to ban flights from Britain, the APA news agency said, citing the Health Ministry.
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