A new, fast-spreading virus strain of Covid19 that UK PM Boris Johnson says is up to 70% “more transmissible” and other UK authorities describe it as “out of control” has led Belgium and the Netherlands suspended flights from the UK on Sunday and several other countries weighing similar measures too.
The new strain has also been detected in the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and South Africa.
The Indian health ministry has called an urgent meeting of its joint monitoring group on Monday to discuss the new strain. The emergence of a mutated variant of the coronavirus in the UK, which has led to a surge in the infection rate there.
European countries began closing their borders to travellers from the United Kingdom as British health secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday that the government has imposed a strict Christmas lockdown in London and southeast England because the new strain of the coronavirus was “out of control”.
The new restrictions in England, which came into effect at midnight on Saturday and effectively quarantined the capital and other areas from the rest of the country, are the harshest measures to be taken since the country’s first lockdown in March.
Worried by the potential influx of travellers from Britain, the Netherlands said it would suspend flights from Britain from Sunday until January 1.
The German government said that it’s banning all flights coming from Britain, with the exception of cargo flights, starting at midnight Sunday. France too announced a complete ban on travel to the UK and it comes into effect at midnight tonight (Sunday). The initial ban will be for 48 hours, said PM Jean Castex.
Belgium issued a flight ban for 24 hours starting at midnight and also halted train links to Britain, including the Eurostar. Austria and Italy said they would halt flights from the UK but did not say exactly when that would take place.
Italy’s health minister, Roberto Speranza, said an order signed on Sunday blocks flights from Britain and prohibits entry into Italy by anyone who has been in the UK in the last 14 days. The order bans plane travel until January 6.
The Czech Republic imposed stricter quarantine measures from people arriving from Britain. High-speed train operator Eurostar cancelled its trains between London, Brussels and Amsterdam beginning Monday, but kept trains operating on the London-to-Paris route.
The WHO tweeted late on Saturday that it was “in close contact with UK officials on the new COVID19 virus variant and promised to update governments and the public as more is learned.”
