TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras.- United Kingdom lives in its own flesh what in December Wuhan, in China, suffered due to the covid-19 pandemic. The only difference is that England is the victim of a new strain of the disease, which prompted them to take further action.
London, the capital of this nation, is like the Wuhan of England, the city that became the epicenter of the new variant of the coronavirus, which has thousands of people under it, including several Hondurans.
In accordance with Iván Romero Martínez, Ambassador of Honduras to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in this place live less than a thousand compatriots, but more than half (about 600) are in London.
One of them is Harold Isaac Borjas Vásquez, a young Honduran-Spanish, who recently arrived in London with the idea of expanding his job opportunities, but who with the new strain is in a mandatory quarantine.
In dialogue with THE HERALD, The compatriot, born in San Lorenzo, Valle, In southern Honduras, explained that on December 21 he arrived in this city, but that after filling out a form and conducting his immigration review he had to go directly to the place where he has to spend 10 days practically closed.
He decided to go to a hostel, where it has been four days since he arrived in this nation. Quarantine is absolute. The person entering does not have to leave for anything. Basic purchases (food, medicine, etc.) must be made by third parties.
“I can’t go out now, but they say everything is wrong here because of the mutation that the coronavirus has had. I haven’t heard much change on the street, I don’t know how it was before, but I speak in the sense that the government doesn’t take measures with the citizens “, he said, referring to the one who also lived in Spain, his second homeland.
+ As a Christmas present, Latin American countries are starting to receive vaccines
Harold explained that in England, especially in London, There are many people who do not wear a mask, a measure that is mandatory in southern European countries and other parts of the world.
en United Kingdom it is only mandatory in enclosed spaces, shopping malls or on public transport. What does happen is that mobility was reduced, that is, few people walk the streets.
Ángela Cruz, another compatriot who resides in the United Kingdom, indicated to THE HERALD that only “first necessity” businesses are open.
The Honduran lives in Eastbourne, a city two hours from the main city. “The situation is a bit critical for the new strain that exists, but in places like this we can’t go to the capital, which is London; they have closed these avenues, ”he said.
“In my job I’m worried about infecting gentlemen. I also work cleaning hotels and there are almost no guests in the rooms. Security measures are extreme, no food is served in hotels,” he explained.
measures
When he learned about the new strain in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke of stricter confinement and reducing resident meetings, especially at Christmas celebrations. He also mentioned the closure of some “non-essential” businesses (barbershops, gyms, etc.).
The contagion with the new variant is 70% higher, which forced more than twenty countries to restrict flights from the United Kingdom.
According to international media, this strain was discovered in September, but it was not until November – when a quarter of cases in London were for this new variant – that alerts went off. By December the cases had increased by almost two-thirds.
+ UK increasingly isolated by new covid-19 ‘out of control’ strain
There are currently 2.2 million infected and nearly 70,000 dead in the UK, according to the Worldometers website, which does not specify how many were entrusted with the new strain. Local media mention that as of December 19 they were more than 20 thousand.
Measures in this nation have been questioned and labeled “loose,” as the prime minister once called for “collective immunization,” but then was forced to back down when the Imperial College London present a mathematical model that visualized the increase in deaths from the disease.
Are Hondurans infected?
Last Monday, the ambassador of Honduras in the United Kingdom assured that they had no records of compatriots infected by the new strain.
In dialogue with HRN, the diplomat suggested Hondurans be in constant communication with them. “The embassy’s phones and emails are available and above all we are aware of the evolution of each of them,” he mentioned.
He also said that Hondurans living in London they are obedient to biosecurity measures to prevent infection.
“Today we are talking about a ghost London, practically. It is 90 per cent paralyzed, food and emergency shops are just open,” he described.
Romero Martínez expressed concern about the new strain as it is 70% more contagious than the virus discovered in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, but warned that research is still underway on the variant which also remains in suspense. Honduras.