The UK will close its borders to travelers from South America and Portugal on Friday as concern grows over a new variant of Covid-19 that researchers believe arose in the Brazilian Amazon, a region that has struggled to cope with the disease.
The variant, which shares similarities with the highly infectious types identified in Britain and South Africa, was reported in Japan earlier this month among a group of travelers who had recently returned from the Amazon and was also responsible. of a case of reinfection in the vast Brazilian state of Amazon, the researchers said.
The UK Department of Transport said on Thursday it would deny entry from Friday to anyone who has traveled to or through South America and Portugal in the past 10 days. The ban also includes Panama and the Portuguese-speaking African nation Cape Verde.
“The decision to ban travel from these destinations follows the discovery of a new variant of coronavirus first identified in Brazil, which could have spread to countries with strong travel ties to Brazil,” the department said. Thursday.
Amazon infectious disease specialists have long feared that the affected region could become a breeding ground for virus mutations as the local health system approaches.