By Reuters Staff
(Recasts after suspension order signed, adds details)
MILAN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Italy is suspending flights from Britain in response to a new coronavirus strain spreading there, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Sunday.
Anyone who has transited through Britain in the last 14 days is also prohibited from entering Italy, he said on Facebook.
“The COVID variant, recently discovered in London, is worrying and will need to be investigated by our scientists. In the meantime we choose the path of maximum prudence,” the minister said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and scientists said on Saturday that the new strain was up to 70% more infectious than the original version.
Covid-19: quels pays ont suspendu leurs vols et leurs trains avec le Royaume-Uni?
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Lock down, says Italy adviser, as deaths head for wartime levels
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Italy’s COVID-19 infection rate continued its downward trend Thursday, though authorities warned that a new rise was “inexorable” with the holiday season about to start.
The country recorded 18,236 new infections over the previous 24 hours, the 12th consecutive day with fewer than 20,000 infections a level surpassed in 39 days since Oct. 25, including the all-time peak of 40,896 infections on Nov. 13.
On Thursday, the country also saw 27,913 recoveries over the past 24 hours, which outnumbered new infections by nearly 10,000, a near-record level. In mid-November, Italy was seeing more new coronavirus infections than recoveries in most days.
There were 2,855 patients in intensive care units Thursday, 71 fewer than a day earlier. Ten days ago, there were nearly 3,500 seriously-ill coronavirus patients in Italian hospitals.