Trucks line up on the A20 to enter the port of Dover, Kent.
Gareth Fuller | PA Images using Getty Images
LONDON – A new highly contagious variant of coronavirus causes countries in Europe and other countries to block travel from Britain.
The UK warned last week about a new variant of the coronavirus that is believed to be up to 70% more communicable than the original strain of the disease. According to the World Health Organization, the new variant has so far been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia.
News of the tension has forced the British government to back down on plans to let families mingle over Christmas, closing London and other areas of southern England where Covid mutation infections are concentrated.
Over the weekend, several countries announced plans to close their borders in Britain. In Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands have banned flights from the UK, while Austria and Sweden are preparing to do the same.
France banned people and goods coming from the UK, whether by road, air, sea or rail, for 48 hours from Sunday night. The port of Dover was also closed to all vehicular traffic leaving the UK, according to a statement from authorities. The move is expected to trigger miles of truck backups.
On Monday, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it was “somewhat surprising” that France had closed the border to freight transport.
Meanwhile, the German government suspended all flights from the UK from midnight on Sunday. German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the UK virus mutation had not yet been identified in the country.
Belgium’s ban prevents flights and trains, including the popular Eurostar high-speed rail service, from arriving in the UK. Meanwhile, Italy has blocked all flights from the country until January 6, with the Italian health ministry saying its first case of the new virus had been reported in a variant in Rome. The Netherlands has banned flights from Britain until 1 January.
Ireland, which usually has heavy passenger traffic with the UK at this time of year, announced that flights arriving from England, Wales and Scotland would be banned for at least 48 hours from midnight.
Crisis meeting
The UK government said it would hold a crisis meeting on Monday to discuss the state of international travel. The European Council is expected to hold talks on a coordinated EU response to the new Covid variant at 10am London time.
The situation could further complicate talks on Brexit. Britain and the European Union remain at a standstill for post-Brexit trade relations as the December 31 deadline expires, with disputes over issues such as fisheries reaching negotiations. The pound sterling plunged sharply against the dollar, falling 1.2% to around $ 1.34.
Other countries, including Canada and Israel, have also imposed new measures to ban flights from the UK
What is the new variant of coronavirus?
Professor Chris Whitty, chief English doctor, said on Saturday that the UK had identified a new variant of Covid that “can spread more quickly” than previous strains.
It is unclear whether the new strain is transmitted more easily, makes people sick, or changes the way their immune system responds to the virus if they were already infected or vaccinated. So far, Whitty said, studies suggest the new strain is substantially more transmissible, but there is no evidence to indicate that it causes a higher mortality rate.
Whitty added that there was a “working assumption” that vaccines should still work against the mutant strain.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday the new variant was “out of control” and suggested it could be months before strict coronavirus restrictions could be lifted.
“The new variant is out of control and we have to control it,” Hancock told the BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday.
“We basically have to launch this vaccine to keep people safe,” Hancock said in a separate interview with Sky News.
“I think, 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.”
The UK was the first country to start rolling out a leading Covid vaccine, the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Vaccines are currently only given to the most vulnerable people in the UK and it is unclear when they will be available.