Italy, Belgium and Netherlands ban flights to and from UK over new strain of COVID-19

After a more infectious variant of coronavirus has been identified in the United Kingdom, many European countries have or are considering banning travel from the region. While both Belgium and the Netherlands have already suspended flights with the UK, Italy joined the bandwagon after Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio made an announcement on his Facebook page. Belgium has also banned trains. 

The Netherlands made a decision to ban all passenger flights from the UK, starting 06:00 (05:00 GMT) on Sunday until 1 January after UK's top health officials said the new variant of COVID-19 is proving to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible. Reportedly, France and Germany are also considering banning flights to and from UK over similar concerns. 

Current situation in the UK

Earlier, scientists in the UK had warned the Boris Johnson administration that there was a new mutated genome of the COVID-19 disease-causing virus which was more contagious and was spreading at a faster rate. This was followed by UK PM backtracking on his earlier announcements related to Christmas rules, as he imposed stricter tier-4 restrictions in London and parts of England. "It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned," UK prime minister said during a press conference. "The struggle against COVID is the single biggest crisis the world has faced in my lifetime," he added. PM Johnson cited 'other European countries' while announcing the new sweeping measures to justify the lockdown. 

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Also, the World Health Organization recently said that it was in close contact with the UK government to gain more information about the new coronavirus variant. Taking to its official Twitter handle, the organization wrote, "We’re in close contact with UK officials on the new COVID19 virus variant. They’ll continue to share info and results of their analysis and ongoing studies". 

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Further, WHO  informed that it will update the Member States and the people as it learns more about this new mutated strand of the SARS-C0V-2 that has been reported in parts of England. However, as of now, there is no evidence to suggest that the mutation will hamper the effectiveness of the vaccine. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that the new variant that has been spotted is responsible for approximately 1,000 cases.

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Also Read: Belgium Allows Non-essential Shops To Open

(Image Credits: AP)