Several countries, including France, Germany, Spain and India, have suspended all flights from the UK as officials face an outbreak of a “mutant” strain of the new coronavirus that worries that there is more concern than COVID-19.
According to Bloomberg News, some countries – including Saudi Arabia and Oman – have canceled all international flights for a week due to panic over the new strain of the virus.
The new mutated strain of the virus was discovered in September and sparked fears that it would be even more contagious than COVID-19; however, some experts warn that it is too early to make this determination with a certain level of certainty and that it is normal for viruses to mutate.
However, whether the virus is more contagious like COVID-19 or not, the British government has warned that it is spreading “out of control”, especially in the southern areas of England and Wales, which they have seen a huge increase in the number of confirmed cases per 100,000 people in recent weeks.
The sudden closure of travel to and from the UK has disrupted shipping, as trucks carrying containers lined up at the port of Dover with nowhere to go.
During the course of announcing a series of strict blockade measures on Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new virus is up to 70% more transmissible than COVID-19, and the Italian foreign minister al- legacy that confirmed cases of the new virus appear on the European continent. European health officials have also admitted that the prevalence and spread of the new virus could negatively affect the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines currently being distributed by Pfizer and Moderna, although it is too early to determine for sure.
The new strain of the virus was initially discovered by genome sequencing in a British patient in September and was initially thought not to be a source of serious concern. However, the extent to which this mutation has spread has caused serious concern, especially on the European continent, for interaction with the United Kingdom.