[News]New strain of coronavirus: cancellation of flights and trains with the United Kingdom

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The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that it is in "close contact"
 with the British authorities to follow up on the investigation.

Countries such as Germany, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Argentina and Chile suspended flights with the United Kingdom.

 

Latin American countries that have adopted restrictions

    Argentina is one of the countries in the region that has banned flights from the United Kingdom. 
Argentine authorities said the last flight from London would arrive in the country on Monday.

    Chile announced the suspension of flights from the United Kingdom as of Tuesday.
 The government said that anyone without a Chilean residence permit who had been in Britain
 in the past two weeks would be barred from entering the country.

    El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said that no one who has been to Britain or South Africa
 in the past 30 days will be allowed into the country.

    Peru will not authorize the arrival to the country of direct flights 
or with a stopover in the United Kingdom as a "preventive measure" before the appearance of the new variant of covid-19.

    Colombia also suspended flights to and from the United Kingdom as a preventive measure starting this Monday.

What measures have been taken in Europe

In the European Union, many countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Denmark,
 the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Sweden and Belgium, have already announced temporary bans 
on flights from the UK, although several countries have allowed exceptions for the freight traffic.

    The new variant of coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom that led to the imposition 
of a harsh quarantine in London and other regions of the country
    Europe faces Christmas with strict quarantines and with uncertainty due to the new variant 
of coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom

The Dutch government, the first to ban the flights, did so after detecting a case that was revealed 
to be from the same strain of coronavirus found in the UK.

WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove told the BBC that cases of the new variant had also been identified 
in Denmark and Australia.

Train service on the Eurotunel was also suspended and France closed its border with the United Kingdom 
for 48 hours, preventing trucks and ferry passengers from leaving the English port of Dover.

Spain, for its part, will suspend flights from the United Kingdom as of this Tuesday except for 
Spaniards and residents in the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the face of flight restrictions and cancellations, hundreds of people flocked to train stations like St. 
Pancras, Kings Cross, Paddington, Euston and others in London on Saturday night to try to leave the city.

Bulgaria also suspended flights, but unlike short-term measures taken in other countries, 
its measures will last until January 31.

Turkey and Switzerland also banned flights from the UK.

But the measures extend beyond Europe: Canada suspended the entry of all passenger flights from the United Kingdom for
 72 hours from 5:00 a.m. on Monday.

Other countries that introduced new restrictions on travel with the United Kingdom include Hong Kong,
 India, Israel, Iran, Croatia, Morocco and Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia suspended all international flights for a week due to the pandemic.

 

 

What do we know about the new variant?

Scientists insisted on Saturday that it is not yet known whether the new strain is actually 
spreading faster than all previous ones.

    9 questions to understand what is happening with the new strain of coronavirus

But in a message on Twitter, the WHO reported that it is talking with UK authorities about the new strain.

 

 

 

He noted that British authorities were sharing information on ongoing studies on this mutation, 
and that the WHO will inform member states and the public
 "as we learn more about the characteristics of this variant of the virus and any implications" .

Despite "considerable uncertainty", British Prime Minister Boris Johnson 
claimed that the new strain may be up to 70% more transmittable than previous ones.

Still, UK authorities note that there is currently no evidence to indicate that 
the new variant causes a higher death rate or responds differently to vaccines and treatments.

"I think this is a situation that is going to make things much worse," England's chief
 medical officer Chris Whitty said, but added that there are certain things that allow for optimism,
 such as the fact that the vaccine is starting to be used. , which as assumed so far will work for the new variant.