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(CNN) – A growing number of countries halted flights from the UK on Sunday following the discovery of a new variant of COVID-19, which officials say is spreading faster than others.
The new variant of the coronavirus, which prompted the UK government to impose a Level 4 lockdown on London and south-east England, and tighten restrictions for all of England during the holiday period, is “out of control,” it said on Sunday. Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Same day the UK broke its daily record for coronavirus cases, recording 35,928 new cases.
The ensuing wave of travel bans has isolated UK travelers from much of the continent. It also prompted the decision to hold an emergency government meeting on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a 10th spokesperson told CNN. The meeting will focus on international movement restrictions and “in particular, the constant flow of cargo. inside and outside the UK, “they said. “More meetings will be held tonight and tomorrow morning to ensure strong plans are in place.”
On Sunday, France announced that it would suspend travel to and from the UK for 48 hours starting at midnight local time, due to “new health risk,” French Prime Minister Jean Castex said. Subsequently, both the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel announced closures.
The Republic of Ireland bans flights from Great Britain on Mondays and Tuesdays. “In the interest of public health, people in Great Britain, regardless of nationality, should not travel to Ireland, either by air or by sea,” the Irish government announced in a statement. Italy will also suspend flights to and from the UK, in addition to banning entry to anyone who has been to Britain in the past two weeks, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook on Sunday.
Portugal will allow only Portuguese citizens to arrive on flights from the UK, and they must have a negative COVID-19 test, according to the country’s interior minister.
Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Belgium will block UK travelers for 24 hours on Monday as a “precautionary measure”, although the ban could be extended if necessary. “As a precautionary measure, we have decided to stop the flights.” from the UK from midnight over a 24 hour period, and what is equally important to our country, to do the same with the Eurostar (train), because that’s actually the main way people from the UK enter in our country, “he said, speaking to CNN affiliate VRT Sunday morning news program” De Zevende Dag. “
The Netherlands and Latvia announced longer bans on flights from the UK, until the new year. The Dutch government, which also banned ferry passengers arriving from the UK, said the same variant of the virus had been detected in the Netherlands. Estonia also announced the suspension of air traffic with the UK until the end of the year.
And the Czech Republic imposed a mandatory 10-day quarantine on anyone arriving from the UK from Sunday.
Further afield, Saudi Arabia suspends all international flights for travelers, as well as entry through land and sea ports, for a week. Turkey banned flights from the United Kingdom, South Africa, the Netherlands and Denmark, according to the country’s state agency Anadolu. And Israel has banned incoming flights from Britain, Denmark and South Africa, and will ban foreign nationals from those countries from entering the country.
Tight coronavirus restrictions
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke the news on Saturday that London and much of the south and east of England, where cases are on the rise, would enter Level 4 restrictions, similar to the lockdown seen in spring, just a few days after reiterating your commitment to relax the rules. during the Christmas period.
Johnson noted that in Tier 4 areas under the strictest restrictions, there will be no possibility of domestic mixing during Christmas. In areas with lower alert levels in England, Scotland and Wales, mixing will now be allowed only on Christmas Day.
In a hastily convened press conference on Saturday, Johnson said the virus strain appears to spread more easily and may be up to 70% more transmissible than the previous strain.
Medical director Chris Whitty said on Saturday that the new variant is responsible for 60% of infections in London, which have almost doubled in the last week.
As with other new variants or strains of COVID-19, this one carries a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to trace, and it turns out to be one that is now common. That doesn’t mean that the mutation made it spread more easily, nor does it necessarily mean that this variation is more dangerous.
Multiple experts in virus genetics and epidemiology are pointing out that this could simply be a “lucky” strain that has been amplified due to a super-propagation event; it could be the mutation that somehow makes it spread more easily without causing more serious disease; or it could be by chance.
Still, the government’s scientific advisory group for COVID-19 also warned that the new strain is a “real cause for concern” and called for urgent action. On Twitter Jeremy Farrar said: “Research is underway to understand more, but acting urgently now is critical. There is nowhere in the UK and the world that you need not worry about. As in many countries, the situation is fragile.”
The new variant of COVID-19 originates from southeastern England and has been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia, World Health Organization Covid-19 technical director Maria Van Kerkhove said on Sunday.
“We understand that this variant has also been identified in Denmark, in the Netherlands and there was a case in Australia and it did not spread further,” he said in an interview with the BBC.
Van Kerkhove said the new variant had been circulating in south-east England “since September”, adding: “We understand that the virus does not cause more serious illness from preliminary information than [the UK] shared with us, although again those studies are underway to observe hospitalized patients with this variant. “
Londoners flee the capital after new restrictions
When asked about the time frame of the Level 4 restrictions, which effectively put parts of the UK back into lockdown seen in the spring, Hancock said on Sunday: “Given how quickly this new variant spreads, it will be very difficult keep under control until we have the vaccine. “
Hancock added that what really matters “is that people don’t just follow [the new Tier 4 measures], but everyone in a Level 4 area acts like they have the virus to stop spreading it to other people. (…) We simply know that with this new variant, it can be contracted more easily if there is less of the virus present. “
“All the different measures that we have in place, we need more of them to control the spread of the new variant than to control the spread of the old variant,” he added, in response to whether current measures to protect people, such as using of masks and the 2 meter (6.5 feet) rule was enough to protect people from the new strain.
Still, Londoners boarded trains and motorways on Saturday night as they scrambled out of the capital ahead of new restrictions announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
At 7pm on Saturday night, there were no vacant seats on trains leaving London from various stations in the capital, PA Media reported. Passengers complained of not being able to socially distance themselves inside the train cars.
The scenes were condemned by politicians and public health experts. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the introduction of the restrictions “devastating” in an interview with the BBC, adding that the scenes at London train stations “were a direct consequence of the chaotic way it was done. the announcement and the late stage in which it was made. “
“I understand why people want to see their moms, dads, older relatives again, but I think it’s wrong,” he said.
Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor Party, accused Johnson of “gross negligence” by failing to act earlier. Starmer said the Labor Party supported the latest coronavirus restrictions, but criticized the prime minister for waiting until “11 o’clock” to make a decision.
“It was blatantly obvious last week that the prime minister’s plan for a free Christmas for all was too great a risk,” Starmer said at an online news conference. “And yet, instead of listening to the concerns and taking them seriously, the prime minister did what he always does: dismissed the challenge, ruffled his hair and made a flippant comment.
“We have known about rising infections and the NHS reaching capacity in many parts of the country for weeks. The alarm bells have been ringing for weeks, but the prime minister decided to ignore them,” he said.
“It is an act of gross negligence on the part of a prime minister who, once again, has been caught behind the curve,” he said.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Countries stop travel from the UK due to concerns about new variant of Covid-19.”
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