Lorenzo González on the new species COVID-19: “It is possible that it hits the ground here”

Amid multiple scientific reports on a new species of the COVID-19, the secretary of Health Department, Lorenzo González Feliciano, this Monday did not rule out the variant of the virus reaching Puerto Rico.

He stressed that countries like England are taking more aggressive measures to contain the spread of the disease, which, according to some analyzes, may be more contagious.

What if we can’t say it won’t reach us. It exists and it is a possibility that it will hit the ground here. We will certainly see the position of England, which has greatly reduced its flights and scientists are informing the World Health Organization. So we should see England’s response to the benefit of the world’s population by restricting external flights to keep infections to a minimum. “, he said in a radio interview (Notiuno 630 AM).

The new strain of COVID-19 identified by England accelerates the transmission of the virus by up to 70%, according to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Although this country has the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the finding, the entity claimed they have no evidence that this variant behaves differently.

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical director of WHO COVID-19, said this strain was similar to a strain initially reported among minks in Europe, adding that scientists would study the strain of the virus to see if there is a difference in the way it elicits an immune response in humans..

Despite this, several countries have started to restrict flights from England. In Europe, for example, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Bulgaria have announced travel restrictions.

However, the United States has taken no action against this new tribe, so the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomoyesterday urged authorities to respond quickly. “The UK variant will arrive by planes at JFK airport,” he said.

“One hundred and twenty countries need a test. We do not. Other European countries have imposed a ban. We don’t have it and today the variant takes the plane and lands at JFK. How many times in your life do you have to make the same mistake before you learn anything, ”said the Democratic Governor.