Passengers arrive at Heathrow Airport, September 8, 2020 (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
LONDON European countries started banning flights coming from the UK on Sunday as government in London warned that a potent new strain of the virus was “out of control.”
Following the example of the Netherlands, where a ban on all UK passenger flights came into effect on Sunday, a German government source said Berlin, too, was considering a similar move as “a serious option” for flights from both Britain and South Africa.
The Dutch ban came into effect from 6:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will last until January 1. And neighboring Belgium also said it was suspending flight and train arrivals from Britain from midnight.
»European Nations Ban Flights from UK as Britain Says New Virus Strain Out of Control , Situation ‘Deadly Serious
3-MIN READ
European Nations Ban Flights from UK as Britain Says New Virus Strain Out of Control , Situation ‘Deadly Serious
Pedestrians walk past a British government health information advertisement highlighting new restrictions amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, in London on December 19, 2020. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
Alarm bells were ringing across Europe which last week became the first region in the world to pass 500,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic broke out a year ago after it appeared that a new, even more infectious strain of the virus was raging in parts of Britain.
Italy detects new mutated Covid-19 strain in UK returnee ANI | Updated: Dec 21, 2020 02:04 IST
Rome [Italy], December 21 (ANI): Italy on Sunday said it has detected a new coronavirus strain with mutations in a person who recently returned from the United Kingdom.
On Saturday, the United Kingdom government locked down parts of the country including London after admitting that more than half of all new Covid-19 cases had been caused by a mutated, more infectious coronavirus strain. The patient and their partner returned from the United Kingdom several days ago, landing in Rome s Fiumicino airport. They are now isolated and have observed, together with family and close contacts, all procedures proscribed by the health authorities, Sputnik quoted the ministry s statement.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the new mutant strain of the coronavirus is “out of control” and suggested parts of England will be stuck in the new highest tier of restrictions until a vaccine is rolled out. More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home as a lockdown came into force Sunday in London and southeast England and the government scrapped plans to relax rules on socializing at Christmas in an attempt to control the fast-spreading new variant of the virus. The measures ban household mixing in the capital and the southeast, and restrict socializing to just Christmas Day across the rest of England. Residents across the country were told to keep to their local areas.
Sharon Seretlo
This comes after Britain warned of a new virus strain, and enforced stricter lockdowns.
The country s government has warned the virus is getting out of control .
The number of Covid-19 cases in Britain surged by 35 928 on Sunday, official data showed, the highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic.
There were also 326 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, lower than the 534 recorded on Saturday.
The government has toughened restrictions in London and southeast England to try to curb the spread of a new, fast-spreading variant of the virus.
European countries started banning flights coming from the UK on Sunday as government in London warned that a potent new strain of the virus was out of control .