New coronavirus strain prompts lockdowns, travel bans as EU green-lights vaccine en.people.cn - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from en.people.cn Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo taken on Dec. 21, 2020 shows Eurostar trains at empty St. Pancras International Station in London, Britain. Eurostar announced it was canceling trains between London, Brussels and Amsterdam from Dec. 21. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
Amid growing concerns over the mutant coronavirus, the European Union gave the green light to the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within the bloc late on Monday, hours after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave a positive scientific assessment.
Several European countries and Australia have detected a new, faster spreading and potentially more contagious strain of COVID-19 in recent days and have or are about to roll out stricter control measures.
UK finds yet more transmissible Covid variant
2020-12-23 HKT 23:47 Share this story
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the two cases were contacts of cases who had travelled from South Africa over the last few weeks. Photo: Reuters Britain has detected another new variant of the coronavirus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday. We ve detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the UK, he told a media briefing.
He said both are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the last few weeks. This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the (first) new variant that s been discovered in the UK, Hancock said. (Reuters)
Trudeau called the situation “serious” and urged all Canadians to abstain from travelling overseas during the holidays. He said the two-week ban will help “prevent this new variant of COVID-19 of spreading to Canada.”
Update: To prevent the new variant of COVID-19 from spreading in Canada, we’re extending the temporary suspension of passenger flights from the UK for another two weeks, until January 6th. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and do whatever it takes to keep you safe.
On Monday, British Columbia health officials said the British variant of COVID-19 has not yet been detected in BC or in any Canadian province.
UPDATE: New Strain Behind Case Surge In South Africa Discovered In UK
Wed, 23rd Dec 2020 16:16
(Alliance News) - A highly concerning new variant of the Covid-19 virus which is believed to spread easier than the mutant strain that resulted in the creation of the new Tier 4 restrictions has been discovered in Britain, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.
The variant, believed to be behind an increase in cases in South Africa, has been discovered in two people in the UK thought to be contacts of those who travelled between the two countries in the last few weeks.
The health secretary told a Downing Street press briefing that the discovery would result in urgent new quarantine rules for recent visitors from South Africa.