China has announced the suspension of round-trip flights with the United Kingdom, following the cut-off of flights to the country by several countries. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on Thursday (Dec. 24) that “after careful consideration, China has decided to refer to the experience of other countries and suspend flights to and from the United Kingdom.” He added that the Chinese side will closely track the development and adjust the relevant control measures dynamically according to the situation.
A highly contagious mutated strain of a new coronavirus, which is 70 percent more infectious than the previous new coronavirus, was discovered in the United Kingdom in mid-December.
Countries around the world have been closing their borders to the U.K. since Dec. 20. According to the Daily Mail, at least 53 countries have already announced the suspension of flights to the UK or imposed various types of controls. The United States has not yet announced the suspension of flights to and from the United Kingdom.
According to aviation data provider Variflight, there are currently eight weekly flights between mainland China and the U.K., including one flight each on Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. British Airways operates two flights a week from London to Shanghai.
China’s Caixin news, China Southern Airlines has cancelled direct flights from Guangzhou to London from Dec. 24 until Jan. 7 next year, becoming the first Chinese airline to suspend direct flights between the two countries. Air China and China Eastern have not yet announced flight suspension measures.
On the other hand, according to the latest outbreak notification from China’s National health Commission, as of 0000 hours on December 24, China had 17 new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus on the 23rd, of which 6 cases of local transmission are still in Dalian, Liaoning Province. Also, according to Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing CDC, from 0000 hours on December 23 to 1600 hours on December 24, two new cases of asymptomatic infection were reported in Beijing, with 280 and 224 close contacts identified, respectively.
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