Countries ban travel from UK in race to block new Covid-19 strain

The travel restrictions, following the identification of the new species earlier this week, mark new setbacks in the fight against the deadly coronavirus, despite the start of vaccinations in recent days.

The Netherlands took the first step and banned all passenger flights from the UK until January 1. Belgium soon followed suit, banning flights and train arrivals from the Eurostar line from midnight on Sunday, initially for 24 hours.

“This is a precautionary measure and we will see later whether we need additional measures,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Belgian broadcaster RTBF on Sunday. Both countries continued to allow ferry crossings, but with stricter passenger controls.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein convened a special cabinet meeting on Sunday to consider an immediate ban on travelers from the UK, Denmark and South Africa, where evidence of the new species has also emerged, said Mr. Netanyahu’s official webpage.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a press conference on Saturday that scientists believe the new variety could be as much as 70% more transferable than more established species. He said there is no evidence that it is more deadly or more resistant to vaccines, despite its faster person-to-person transmission.

In response to the discovery, Mr. Johnson imposed a new lockdown on London and the nearby areas of the South East and East of England. The new measures include a ban on mixing households at Christmas.

The new strain of the virus accounted for 62% of the new cases identified in London from week to Wednesday. The Dutch government also said on Sunday that it had discovered the species was present in the Netherlands when investigating a Covid-19 case early this month.

“Following the latest reports from the UK, this case is being further investigated,” said a statement by the Dutch government.

The UK reported the discovery of the new species on Monday and has already notified the World Health Organization.

The Dutch government plans to meet with other governments of the European Union in the coming days to “explore options for further reducing the risk of the new strain of the virus being transmitted from the UK,” the statement said.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said later on Sunday that Italy would also ban flights from the UK, although he did not specify when the ban would take effect.

“The UK has raised the alarm about a new form of Covid due to a mutation in the virus,” Mr Di Maio wrote on his Facebook page. “Our priority is to protect Italy and our countrymen.” Belgium and the Netherlands have recently seen an acceleration in the rate at which the coronavirus is spreading. Both countries brought back a drop in the number of virus cases last month, but not to the low levels reached in the summer after the first wave.

The UK reported 27,052 new daily infections on Saturday, bringing the total number of known cases in Britain to more than 2 million. There are currently nearly 19,000 people in hospital with Covid-19, and the country has reported an average of more than 400 deaths a day for the past seven days.

The UK became the first Western country to vaccinate people with a clinically approved vaccine earlier this month. Mr. Johnson said 350,000 people had now been shot. That compared to more than 137,000 on December 15.

EU officials expect to approve the same vaccine this week and start administering it on December 27.

Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, said on Saturday that the new species had already been supplanted in parts of England. “This virus is on the rise, it moves quickly and it inevitably leads to a surge in hospital admissions,” he said.

—Francis X. Rocca in Rome contributed to this article

Write to Daniel Michaels at [email protected]