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Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook that he signed an order to suspend flights from the United Kingdom and prohibit entry to Italy to those who have passed through the country in the last 14 days, to prevent the spread of a new variant. coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that has become common in England. The spread of this variant of the virus, which does not cause symptoms other than those already known but seems more contagious, has led the British government to impose new blocking measures in London and in some regions of England.
Other European countries have also suspended flights from the UK. The Netherlands did it a few hours after the speech delivered yesterday by Boris Johnson, in which the British prime minister had spoken of the variant of the virus when announcing the new blockade; the block will last at least until January 1. Belgium has adopted a similar measure, which also refers to rail connections, lasting 24 hours; Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said further measures would be considered if necessary.
As for the Italian blockade, Speranza has not specified how long it will last and the text of the ordinance has not yet been published. The minister, however, added, speaking of the United Kingdom: “Anyone who is already in Italy, coming from that territory, must undergo an antigenic or molecular swab by contacting the prevention departments.” The decision to block flights was initially announced by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who wrote on Facebook that flights “with Great Britain” would be blocked, suggesting that flights departing from Italy would also be canceled.
Flights are also blocked in Germany: a government source told the news agency German press agency (DPA). The same would be happening in France, a government source of the newspaper The parisian said a measure is being discussed “at the European level” – and in Austria, the Health Ministry told the news agency Austrian Press Agency (WHAT).
A spokesman for the European division of the World Health Organization (WHO) said ad French Media Agency that the agency has asked European countries to strengthen measures against the coronavirus to limit the spread of the new variant. In addition to the United Kingdom, it has also been found in Denmark (9 cases), the Netherlands (1 case) and Australia (1 case), according to WHO data.
The new variant of the coronavirus has several mutations in the best known form, it is spreading faster where it is present, but it is not believed to be more dangerous. According to the first scientific evidence, on which other studies will be necessary, it seems more contagious. But nothing indicates that it will react differently to vaccines. Other variants of the coronavirus were already known even before the one that spread to the United Kingdom.
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