Trucks line up on the A20 to enter Dover harbor in Kent.
Gareth Fuller | PA Images via Getty Images
LONDON – A highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus is causing countries in Europe and elsewhere to block travel from Great Britain.
The UK last week warned of a new variant of coronavirus that is believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain of the disease. According to the World Health Organization, the new variant has so far been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia.
The news of the species forced the British government to reverse plans for families to mingle over Christmas, shutting down London and other areas of southern England where infections from the Covid mutation are highly concentrated.
Over the weekend, several countries announced plans to close their borders to Great Britain. In Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands have ruled out all flights from the UK, while Austria and Sweden are reportedly preparing to do the same.
France has banned people and cargo from the UK for 48 hours starting Sunday evening, whether by road, air, sea or rail. According to a statement from the authorities, the port of Dover was also closed to all car traffic leaving the UK. The move is expected to yield miles of truck backups.
On Monday, British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it was “somewhat surprising” that France had closed its border to freight.
The German government, meanwhile, has suspended all flights from the UK from midnight on Sunday. German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the UK virus mutation had not yet been identified in the country.
Belgium’s ban prevents flights and trains – including the popular Eurostar high-speed train – from arriving from the UK, and Italy has now blocked all flights from the country until January 6, with the Italian Ministry of Health reporting that the first case of the new virus. variant had been reported in Rome. The Netherlands has banned flights from Great Britain until January 1.
Ireland, which usually has high passenger traffic with the UK at this time of year, announced that flights arriving from England, Wales and Scotland will be banned for at least 48 hours from midnight.
Crisis meeting
The UK government said it would hold a crisis meeting on Monday to discuss the international travel situation. The European Council is expected to hold discussions at 10:00 am (London time) on a coordinated EU response to the new Covid variant.
The situation could further complicate Brexit talks. Britain and the European Union are still deadlocked on post-Brexit trade relations as the December 31 deadline approaches, with disputes over issues such as fisheries plaguing the negotiations. Sterling fell sharply against the dollar, falling 1.2% to around $ 1.34.
Other countries, including Canada and Israel, have also imposed new measures excluding flights from the UK
What is the new coronavirus variant?
Professor Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, said on Saturday that the UK had identified a new Covid variety that could “spread faster” than previous strains.
It is not clear whether the new strain is more easily transmitted, makes people sicker, or changes the way their immune systems respond to the virus if they are already infected or vaccinated. So far, Whitty said, studies suggest the new strain is significantly more transmissible, but there’s no evidence it causes a higher death rate.
Whitty added that there was a “working assumption” that vaccines should still work against the mutated strain.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday that the new variant “got out of hand” and suggested it could take months for the strict coronavirus restrictions to end.
“The new variant has gotten out of hand and we need to get it under control,” Hancock told BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday.
“Essentially we need to get that vaccine rolled out to protect people,” Hancock said in a separate interview with Sky News.
“I think given how much faster this new variety spreads, it will be very difficult to control until we roll out the vaccine.”
The UK was the first country to start rolling out a leading Covid vaccine, the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The vaccines are currently only being administered to the most vulnerable people in the UK and it is not clear when they will become more widely available.