The new Covid-19 strain, which prompted the UK government to impose a Level 4 closure in London and the south-east of England and tighten restrictions across England during the festive period, is “out of control “said Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Sunday. .
The Netherlands bans all passenger flights from the UK from Sunday morning in order to minimize “as much as possible” the risk of the new strain spreading to the Netherlands, according to a government press release. The flight ban will remain in effect until the new year.
The Dutch government said the same variant of the virus had been detected in the Netherlands in a sample of a case in early December and that it is conducting investigations to determine if there are other related cases.
Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Belgium would block UK travelers for 24 hours on Monday as a “precautionary measure”, although the ban could be extended if necessary.
“As a precautionary measure, we have decided to stop flights from the UK from midnight for a period of 24 hours and, just as it is important for our country, to do the same with the Eurostar (train) , because this is the main way for people from the UK to enter our country, ”he said, speaking to the Sunday morning news program“ De Zevende Dag, ”affiliated with CNN, VRT.
Hancock said the new variant should be controlled, which can spread faster than other strains, but is no more dangerous.
“The only way to do that is by restricting social contacts and essentially, especially in level 4 areas, everyone has to behave like they might have the virus, and so we can control it and keep people safe. “he said on Sunday.
Tough coronavirus restrictions
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, announced on Saturday that London and large parts of the south and east of England, where cases are increasing, would introduce level 4 restrictions, similar to the closure seen in the spring, few days after reiterating his commitment to relax the rules during the Christmas period.
Johnson exposed that in level 4 zones under the toughest restrictions, there will be no possibility of domestic mixing during Christmas. In areas with lower alert levels in England, Scotland and Wales, mixing will now only be allowed on Christmas Day.
At a press conference on Saturday convened, Johnson said the strain of the virus appears to spread more easily and can be transmissible up to 70% more than the previous strain.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Saturday that the new variant is responsible for 60% of infections in London, which have almost doubled in the last week.
As with other new variants or strains of Covid-19, this one has a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to track, and is now commonplace. This does not mean that the mutation has made it spread more easily, nor does it necessarily mean that this variation is more dangerous.
Several experts in virus genetics and epidemiology observe that this could be just one “lucky” strain that has been amplified due to a superspar event; the mutation may somehow make it spread more easily without causing more serious illness; or it could simply be by chance.
However, the government’s scientific advisory group for Covid-19 has also warned that the new strain is a “real cause for concern” and has called for urgent action. On Twitter, Jeremy Farrar said: “Research is underway to understand more, but acting urgently is crucial now. There is no part of the UK and around the world that should not be concerned. As in many countries, the situation is fragile. “
Londoners flee the capital after new restrictions
When asked about the timing of the Level 4 restrictions, which effectively put parts of the UK back into the blockade seen in the spring, Hancock said on Sunday: “Given the speed with which this new variant is spreading , it will be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine deployed. “
Hancock added that what really mattered “is that people don’t just follow suit [the new Tier 4 measures], but everyone in a level 4 area acts as if you have the virus to stop spreading it to other people. (…) We simply know that this new variant can be caught more easily from a smaller amount of the virus that is present. “
“All the different measures we have, we need more of them to control the spread of the new variant than to control the spread of the old variant,” he added, in response to whether current measures to protect people, such as the use of masks and the 2-meter (6.5-foot) ruler was enough to protect people from the new strain.
Still, Londoners piled on trains and motorways on Saturday night as they rushed to leave the capital ahead of new restrictions announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
On Saturday evening at seven in the afternoon, there were no free seats on trains leaving London from various stations in the capital, PA Media reported. Passengers complained of not being able to distance themselves socially inside the train carriages.
The scenes were condemned by politicians and public health experts. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, called the introduction of the restrictions “devastating” in an interview with the BBC, adding that the scenes at London’s train stations “were a direct consequence of the chaotic way in which what was made of the announcement and of the final phase “.
“I understand why people want to see their mothers, fathers, relationships with older people again, but I think it’s wrong,” she said.
Arnaud Siad and James Frater contributed to the communication.