France & Canada impose UK travel bans over new COVID-19 variant fears

After the UK reported a new COVID-19 strain, France has now joined several other countries which have suspended traffic coming from the United Kingdom. This new Coronavirus strain is likely to spread more easily and more quickly and is also harder to detect. Taking to Twitter, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said, "Considering the new health risks and pending their assessment, all arrivals from the United Kingdom to France are suspended from midnight for 48 hours for all transport means." 

According to Jean Castex, France will use the 2-day pause to clarify the health situation in the UK and coordinate a common response strategy with EU member states. This comes after the UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, on Sunday said that the new COVID-19 strain is "out of control". 

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Canada implements new border restrictions

Taking to Twitter, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said that he convened a meeting with the Incident Response Group. "We focussed on the new variant of COVID-19 identified in the UK, and we have decided to implement new border restrictions to keep you and people right across the country safe," Trudeau added.

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According to the new border restrictions, starting Monday midnight, all flights from the UK will be prohibited from entering Canada for the next 72 hours. The Canada Prime Minister also informed that the passengers who arrived to the country on Monday are subject to secondary screening and enhanced measures. "More on the actions we are taking to protect you, " he added. 

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What is the Coronavirus strain detected in UK?

According to the World Health Organization, the variation found in the UK, known as  “VUI – 202012/01” was first identified there in mid-September. Ever since then, its mutations have occurred on the genetic material that controls the spikes protein, which allows COVID-19 and other similar viruses to penetrate host cells, causing infection. 

According to the U.K.’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance, there are 23 changes in the virus’s genetic material, an unusually large number that appears to be helping it spread more quickly. British officials have now estimated that “VUI – 202012/01” is as much as 70 per cent more transmissible, a number that is based on modelling but not yet confirmed in lab experiments. Though there is no evidence to-date that the strain causes a more intense illness or leads to a higher fatality rate, the er transmission does mean more cases, which can lead to a higher hospitalization rate.

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