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The government was urged to “reverse this reckless policy of leaving our borders open” after it was claimed that scientific advisers warned that only a complete shutdown would stop new variants of COVID-19 from entering the country.
It comes amid the fears of the most contagious South Africa. coronavirus variant is spreading across England.
According to The Times newspaper, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said that only mandatory quarantines in hotels for all arrivals or a total border closure would keep mutations at bay.
A week after the advice was allegedly given to the UK government, Prime Minister described his plan so that travelers from 30 “red list” countries face up to 10 days of hotel self-isolation.
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A vacation is not a valid reason to travel
There is still no set date for when the rules will begin to apply, proposals lighter than those promoted by SAGE.
Shadow Labor Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Ministers have knowingly left the UK border open and potentially exposed people to new strains of the virus, in direct contradiction to the council. of the scientists of his own government.
“This puts the benefits of the vaccine at risk, with disastrous consequences for people’s lives.
“The Home Secretary must go to Parliament urgently and reverse this reckless policy of leaving our borders open and open to greater risks.”
105 cases of the South African variant have been detected in the UK, and 11 of them identified over the past five to six days do not appear to have links to international travel.
This has raised concerns that there may be outbreaks of spread in local communities with the health secretary announcing a 80,000 person blitz test destined to find “all cases”.
The eight postcode areas at the epicenter of the intensified testing program are: Hanwell, West London; Tottenham, north London; Mitcham, South London; Walsall in the West Midlands; Broxbourne, Hertfordshire; Maidstone, Kent; Woking, Surrey; and Southport, Merseyside.
