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COVID-19 Updates • WORLD NEWS

EU and other countries  block all arrivals form UK due to “new highly contagious mutant” coronavirus strain

23rd December 2020
by News Aggregator
Written by News Aggregator

*EU and other countries  block all arrivals form UK due to “new highly contagious mutant” coronavirus strain

*This is a Report from the BBC-Follow live Links to BBC for full Report

Covid-19 pandemic: International alarm grows over new variant.

There is growing international alarm over a new variant of the coronavirus in the UK, with a host of countries imposing travel bans. More than 40 countries have barred UK arrivals, as the EU held talks on forming a common policy.

Sweden banned foreign travelers from Denmark after cases of the variant were discovered there.

The new strain is more transmissible but there is no evidence it is more deadly.

As the list of countries imposing travel restrictions on the UK grew, the World Health Organization (WHO) sought to put the risks in context.

WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan said new strains were a normal part of the evolution of a pandemic, and that it was not “out of control”, contradicting the UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who used those words on Sunday.

In another development, travellers from South Africa are also facing bars from some countries after another new variant of the virus was discovered that is unrelated to the one found in the UK.

What’s happening in Europe?

Much of the continent has banned UK arrivals in an attempt to halt the spread of the new strain.

France imposed a ban on passengers and freight from the UK, causing disruption at the key southern British port of Dover.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was working with French President Emmanuel Macron to resume trade, and that he hoped the issue would be resolved “as soon as possible”.

Fears of a dangerous disruption to the food supply eased somewhat over the course of the day, as French officials said they were working to devise health protocols that would allow cross-channel freight shipments to resume.

Mr. Johnson said that he had telephoned President Emmanuel Macron and that the French leader told him “he was keen to sort it out in the next few hours.” Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Johnson assured Britons, “Everyone can continue to shop normally.”

The French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said his country would by Tuesday announce what would replace the initial 48-hour ban on travellers and lorries.

In Brussels, officials have been holding talks on finding a co-ordinated response from the EU’s 27 members.

No decision is expected until Tuesday, but one option discussed was demanding that UK arrivals test negative for Covid-19 before they leave.

There was some better news from the continent on Monday, with the EU’s medicines regulator approving the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for jabs to be given as early as Sunday.

Road transport organizations and hauliers,..urged the UK and French governments to come to a mutually agreeable solution that prioritizes the immediate passage of produce and any other food at the ports.

Britain’s Road Haulage Association wrote on Twitter that the French border closure is an “absolute hammer blow” for the supply chain between the UK and the EU.

And in the rest of the world?

Many other countries, from India, to Iran, to Canada have banned UK arrivals.

The US is yet to follow suit, but two airlines – British Airways and Delta – will only allow passengers who test negative for the coronavirus to fly to New York’s John F Kennedy airport.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman have shut their borders completely to international passengers.

Along with Denmark, the new strain has also been detected in Australia, Italy and the Netherlands.

It urged the UK and French governments to come to a mutually agreeable solution that prioritises the immediate passage of produce and any other food at the ports.

Britain’s Road Haulage Association wrote on Twitter that the French border closure is an “absolute hammer blow” for the supply chain between the UK and the EU.

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