More countries joined the list on Monday of countries temporarily halting travel from the UK after UK authorities switched to shut down parts of the economy and public life in response to a new, faster-spreading strain of COVID-19 in England.
Argentina, France, Canada, Ireland, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Estonia, Poland, Norway, Turkey and Latvia have all banned some or all travel from the UK for different time periods, according to multiple news sources. from countries that made similar decisions over the weekend. Travel between the US and the UK has not stopped.
Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) Brett Giroir said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he did not think the virus would overwhelm the UK’s capabilities.
“I read the British medical journals this morning, it’s up to 20 percent of cases in one county, apart from that it’s very low and we don’t know if it’s more dangerous,” said Giroir. “I don’t think there should be any cause for concern at this point.”
But “anything is possible,” he added to CNN on Monday.
Officials from the Japanese and South Korean governments also told Reuters that they were monitoring the situation in the UK, but had no plans to ban flights yet.
Other countries have tightened travel restrictions with the UK without imposing a formal ban. Travelers arriving to the Czech Republic from the UK face a 10-day quarantine, and currently only Portuguese nationals are allowed to travel to and from the UK, which has itself excluded outbound travel from anyone living in a region where one of the highest COVIDs is. -19 spread has been reported.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved over the weekend to close shops before the Christmas holidays, a move he said was in response to the new rapidly spreading strain. The country reports the highest number of new COVID-19 cases on record, seeing nearly 36,000 new confirmed infections on Sunday.
“Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, I have to say with a heavy heart that we cannot go ahead with Christmas as planned,” tweeted Johnson.
“We are sacrificing our chance to see loved ones this Christmas so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so we can see them on future Christmas days,” he continued.
We are sacrificing our chance to see loved ones this Christmas so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so we can see them on future Christmas days. (3/3)
– Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 19, 2020