Over the weekend, the UK reversed plans to ease restrictions around Christmas and announced strict lockdowns in much of the country, citing concerns about a variant of the coronavirus that is believed to be much more contagious.
Alarms over the new variant, first identified in the South East of England, have cut British travelers from much of Europe and other parts of the world as countries have imposed restrictions on travel from the UK.
While the new variant of Covid-19 is believed to be from England, it has also been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia, World Health Organization technical leader Maria Van Kerkhove, Covid-19, said on Sunday. Researchers are investigating a similar variant of the virus in South Africa, imposing additional travel restrictions from there.
To remember: No evidence that the new variants are more virulent, meaning they will not cause more serious illness. They do not appear to influence the effects of treatments or the protection offered by vaccines
Here is a list of countries that have banned travel from the UK so far:
- Russia: Russia is suspending flights to and from the UK for a week starting at midnight, Moscow time on Dec. 22, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing Russia’s coronavirus headquarters.
- Jordan: The government has decided to suspend all direct and indirect (transit) passenger flights from the United Kingdom from Monday to January 3. The news was announced in a statement by Jordanian government spokesman and Minister of State Ali Al-Ayed.
- Oman: Oman will close its air, sea and land borders for a period of one week from Tuesday, December 22 to monitor the new variant of the coronavirus reported by the United Kingdom., Oman’s state news agency reported.
- Argentina: According to a joint statement released Sunday by Argentina’s Ministries of Health and Interior, Argentina will allow only one more flight from Britain to land at Buenos Aires international airport on Monday morning. Subsequent flights have been canceled.
- Belgium: Belgium will block travelers from the United Kingdom on Monday because of the coronavirus variant that has surfaced there, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Sunday morning.
- Bulgaria: Prime Minister Boyko Borissov called a working meeting with members of his cabinet on Sunday in response to the new variant, in which it was decided to temporarily suspend air travel between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom from Monday to January 31, his office said.
- Canada: Canada says it will ban most passenger travel from the UK for at least 72 hours from midnight on Sunday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the news in a tweet Sunday night, saying it was done to “protect” Canadians across the country.
- Chili: The Chilean government has announced that all flights to and from the UK will be suspended from Tuesday and that travelers who have been to the UK in the past 14 days will have to quarantine themselves.
- Colombia: Colombian President Ivan Duque similarly announced that all flights between Colombia and the UK will be suspended from Monday. Travelers who have been in the UK in the past 14 days will also have to go into quarantine upon entering Colombia, Duque told reporters.
- Czech Republic: The Czech government will shut down flights from the UK as of 6 a.m. ET Monday in response to the new variant of the coronavirus in the UK, a government statement said early Monday.
- The Savior: El Salvador bans anyone entering the country from the UK and South Africa.
- Estonia: The Estonian government on Sunday announced a suspension of air traffic between Estonia and the UK, which will take effect at midnight until the end of the year.
- France: French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a 48-hour ban on the movement of people from the UK to France from Sunday evening and will apply to all modes of transport.
- Germany: The German government said it plans to restrict travel to and from the UK and South Africa due to the new coronavirus variant.
- Hong Kong: Hong Kong will ban all passengers who have spent more than two hours in the UK in the past 14 days from arriving in the city from Tuesday, Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan said at a news conference on Monday.
- Iran: Iran announced the suspension of flights to and from the UK for two weeks on Sunday.
- Israel: The Israeli government is banning flights from the UK, Denmark and South Africa.
- Italy: Italy is suspending flights between the country and the United Kingdom due to the new Covid-19 variant identified in England, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio announced on Sunday.
- Kuwait: Kuwait has suspended flights from the United Kingdom as of Monday.
- Latvia: Latvia has suspended travel to and from the UK from December 21 to January 1, the Latvian Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Sunday.
- Lithuania: Fighting from the UK will be suspended, the prime minister tweeted.
- Luxembourg: Luxembourg has temporarily suspended flights from the UK after a new variant of the corona virus was found there, a government statement said on Sunday.
- The Netherlands: The Netherlands prohibits all passenger flights from the United Kingdom.
- Republic of Ireland: The Republic of Ireland is banning flights from Great Britain on Mondays and Tuesdays, the government announced on Sunday.
- Peru: Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti announced a two-week ban on flights from Europe at a national address Monday morning. Sagasti also prohibited foreigners from coming to Peru if they were in the UK for the past two weeks.
- Sweden: Sweden is banning travel from the UK, the country’s foreign minister said on Sunday.
- Turkey: Turkey has banned flights from the UK, South Africa, the Netherlands and Denmark, the state-owned Anadolu Agency reported late on Sunday.
The following countries have not banned travel, but do impose restrictions:
- Greece: Greece will impose a 7-day quarantine on all travelers arriving from the UK starting Monday over concerns about the new Covid-19 variant identified in the UK, Greece’s Civil Protection Department announced on Sunday.
- Portugal: Portugal has imposed restrictions on flights from the UK. Only Portuguese citizens are allowed to travel, and according to the Home Secretary, they must have a negative Covid-19 test.
- Spain: Spain announced it is strengthening airports to verify PCR tests for people coming from the UK, according to a government tweet on Sunday.
Scientists at Walter Reed in the US still expect the vaccine to be effective against this new variant, said Dr. Nelson Michael, director of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research. The Walter Reed scientists said they expect to know in the coming days if there is any concern that the coronavirus vaccines might not work against it.