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The mutated form of coronavirus found in Danish mink has spread to more than 200 people, as Denmark’s prime minister warned that the strain “could pose a risk that future vaccines will not work.”
The country announced that more than 280,000 people in the northern region of Jutland will now be locked up amid growing fears about the spread of the mutated virus.
The mutation had been detected in 11 cases in the region a day ago, but now 214 people are infected according to the report from Denmark. infectious disease agency.
The nation’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said immediate action was necessary as “the eyes of the world are upon us.”
It comes as the national government announced that it will eliminate its mink population of up to 17 million in an effort to minimize the risk that they will relay the new version of the coronavirus to humans.
The UK government announced that Denmark will be removed from the safe travel list in the early hours of this morning following the spread of the mutated virus in the Scandinavian country.
The mutation had been detected in 11 cases in the region a day ago, but now 214 people are infected according to Denmark’s infectious disease agency. Above, minks on a farm in Soroe, North Jutland.
A number of Danish cities are on lockdown after an outbreak of a mutated form of coronavirus that spread from mink to humans. Denmark will now euthanize all its farm minks in an effort to stop the spread.
Denmark has started culling its minks following the spread of a mutated form of coronavirus
The country announced that more than 280,000 people in the northern region of Jutland (above) will now be locked up amid mounting fears about the spread of the mutated virus.
Shapps tweeted: “ I made an urgent decision tonight to remove DENMARK from the list of travel corridors immediately given the developments. ”
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced in an overnight ‘rush’ update that the country would be stripped of its quarantine-free status at 4am.
Denmark’s prime minister said that seven areas in northern Jutland where there is confirmed coronavirus in mink will be blocked, and residents will be told to stay within their local areas starting Thursday night.
“Starting tonight, citizens of seven North Jutland areas are strongly advised to stay in their area to prevent the spread of the infection,” Frederiksen told a news conference on Thursday.
He said people were being ordered not to travel there, while bars and restaurants would also close.
“We are asking them in North Jutland to do something completely extraordinary,” Frederiksen said, speaking of a “real shutdown” of the region.
“The eyes of the world are on us,” he added.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said immediate action was necessary as the “ eyes of the world are on us ” during a press conference on Thursday.
Today, the Danish State Serum Institute said 214 people are infected with the mutated form of the coronavirus, which has spread from mink to humans, Ekstra Bladet reports.
Public transportation in the region will be closed and buses and trains will stop before entering or exiting.
Some schoolchildren will have to follow their classes online with restrictions that must last a month.
The lockdown comes when Frederiksen said Wednesday that the mutated virus in farmed minks could have “devastating consequences around the world” and that action was “necessary” to eliminate the population.
Frederiksen told a press conference: “We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found, we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world as well.”
“The virus mutated in the mink could pose a risk that future vaccines (coronavirus) will not work as they should,” said the prime minister, adding that “it runs the risk of spreading from Denmark to other countries” if measures are not taken .
The national government announced that it will eliminate its mink population of up to 17 million in an effort to minimize the risk that they will relay the new version of the coronavirus to humans.
Above, slaughtered minks lie piled high on a farm in Farre, southern Jutland.
Denmark is one of the world’s leading mink fur exporters, producing approximately 17 million fur per year.
The mutation has already been detected in 12 people: 11 cases in the region and one in another.
Per Back Laursen, the mayor of Vesthimmerland municipality in North Jutland region, told Politiken on Thursday: “ Until a few days ago, we were low on the [number of] infections, but suddenly it went completely wild.
It will be a dark time.
Scientists say that virus mutations are common and often harmless.
However, some experts have asked Denmark to publish more scientific data to better assess this.
Staff from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the Danish Emergency Management Agency wear protective clothing when they start slaughtering minks in Gjol, Denmark
According to the Danish authorities, this mutation of the virus does not cause a more serious disease in humans.
But the antibodies do not inhibit it to the same degree as the normal virus, which they fear could threaten the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines that are being developed around the world.
In North Jutland, health authorities believe that around 5 percent of coronavirus patients could be carriers of this mutated strain, but no recent cases have been reported.
As such, Viggo Andreasen, a professor of epidemiology at Roskilde University, said the mutation had a “pretty good chance” of disappearing, as long as it was effectively contained.
Denmark, a country of 5.8 million people, has been relatively spared from the ravages of Covid-19 with 733 reported deaths.
But he imposed new national restrictions in October to curb a rapid increase in cases.
