A new type of coronavirus has been found in Great Britain. Later, ego was discovered in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia. The World Health Organization informed the BBC about this.
Meanwhile, EU countries began to impose a ban on flights from Great Britain.
The WHO said that it is in "close contact" with representatives of the British authorities regarding the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus. The new variant spreads faster than the previous one, but is not considered more deadly.
On Sunday Netherlands introduced a ban on passenger air travel with Great Britain until January 1 due to a new variant of the coronavirus.
Followed Belgium also introduced a ban on flights to Great Britain.
"As a precautionary measure, we have decided to suspend flights from the UK from midnight (December 21 - ed.) for 24 hours, and, which is no less important for our country, to do the same for the Eurostar (train) - because this is actually the main route , through which people from Great Britain come to our country," said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, speaking on the Sunday morning news program De Zevende Dag on VRT, which is affiliated with CNN.
Italy also announced that it will suspend flights from Great Britain due to a new variant of the coronavirus, writes AFP.
"Great Britain has announced the emergence of a new form of COVID-19... As a government, we are obliged to protect Italians, for this reason,... with the Ministry of Health, we are going to sign a regulation on the termination of flights with Great Britain," Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in Facebook.
Austria announced that it would also suspend flights from Great Britain, but the timing of the ban has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic introduced stricter quarantine measures for those arriving from Great Britain, AP notes.
Let us remind you that the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson, said that the new strain of the virus is 70% more contagious. Stricter restrictions have been introduced in the British capital London and its surroundings since Sunday, December 20, including because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in the region.
The strictest Level 4 restrictions announced the day before by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which came into force at 00:01 on Sunday, December 20, include additional restrictions for Christmas. These changes mean that now Londoners can't meet to celebrate Christmas with anyone other than their family and a "bubble" of support. Restrictions apply to all areas of Greater London.
Due to the wider spread of COVID-19, in addition to London, stricter restrictions will also apply to the southeast and east of England. The changes will affect such regions as Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and all 32 districts of London — about 17,7 million people, the Guardian clarifies. Boris Johnson noted that restrictions will be reviewed every two weeks.
