Some European countries set travel restrictions from the UK, which they are concerned about after the UK and the World Health Organization said they had identified a new variant of COVID-19 in England.
Driving the news: Italy and Austria became the latest countries to restrict flights from the UK on Sunday, joining the Netherlands and Belgium, according to Sky News.
- Dutch officials applied restrictions after identifying at least one case of the same variant in the Netherlands. The ban is expected to be in place at least until the new year.
- Belgium will block air and train passengers on Monday, its prime minister told a CNN affiliate.
- Italy and Austria did not specify the timing of the bans.
What to see: France and Germany are expected to implement similar flight bans, Sky reports.
The backdrop: About 21 million people entered full blockade restrictions in London, south-east and England and Wales on Sunday to curb the spread of the new coronavirus strain.
For the record: He The WHO has tweeted which is in “close contact” with British officials regarding the new variant.
- “They will continue to share information and results from their ongoing analyzes and studies. We will update Member States and the public as we learn more about the characteristics of this variant of the virus and its implications,” the tweet states.