Several European countries have begun imposing travel bans on the United Kingdom due to the emergence of a more infectious and uncontrollable variant of the coronavirus in the country.
Gatwick Airport on Sunday
Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium announced an emergency halt to flights to and from the U.K. over the weekend, but the measures vary from place to place, with some only short-term controls. France has also begun to control the shipping of goods to and from the UK.
The Hong Kong government announced this afternoon (Dec. 21) that from midnight, including Hong Kong residents, all people who have stayed in the United Kingdom for more than two hours in the past 14 days are prohibited from boarding flights to Hong Kong until further notice. Those who have arrived in Hong Kong from the United Kingdom, after completing the 14-day mandatory quarantine quarantine in hotels, must stay home for an additional mandatory seven days.
A meeting of the European Union this morning (December 21) will coordinate the response.
A new variant of the virus has been spreading rapidly through the British capital London and southeast England.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday (19 December) imposed a new level 4 of strict control measures in these areas, cancelling plans to ease restrictions scheduled for the Christmas period, affecting millions of people.
Empty Eurostar departure hall at St Pancras, London, on 25 November 2020
The London to Belgium Eurostar has been called off.
Senior British health officials say there is no evidence that the new variant of the virus is more lethal or that it reacts differently to vaccines. But this variant of the virus has proven to spread 70 percent faster.
British Health Minister Matt Hancock said the new variant of the virus strain “is out of control and we have to get it under control”.
Many overseas students in London have also expressed their frustration at the renewed blockade and criticized the British government’s epidemic prevention measures, BBC Chinese has learned.
European countries take action
The Netherlands said it would ban all passenger flights from the U.K. to the country until Jan. 1, 2021, within hours of Saturday’s announcement of the variant of the virus and the expansion of the embargo.
Later locally on Sunday (20), the Netherlands added that it would ban ferry passengers arriving from the UK and that cargo would continue.
Huge lorry queues to enter Dover port in Kent
Long queues of lorries at Dover terminal.
France suspended all transport links with the UK (including freight trucks) for 48 hours from midnight local time on Sunday.
Thousands of trucks run between the two countries every day.
Responding to the French ban, the British-French Crossing said it suspended vehicle access to Folkestone terminal to Calais (France) from 22:00 local time on Sunday. Refunds are available for those who have already booked travel on Monday. Trains will still run from Calais to Folkestone.
Due to restrictions in France, the ferry terminal at Dover in the UK to France is now closed and all traffic outbound with the UK will be subject to further notice.
Cargo issues have become so urgent that UK Prime Minister Johnson will chair a COBRA emergency response meeting on Monday.
In Ireland, passenger traffic from the UK is high at the end of each year. In response to the variant of the virus, the country’s government announced that flights from England, Wales and Scotland will be banned for at least 48 hours from midnight local time and that “in the interests of public health, people should not travel to Ireland by air or sea in the UK, regardless of nationality.” The statement said.
In Germany, an order from the transport ministry said planes from the U.K. would not be allowed to land after midnight Sunday, with cargo being an exception.
Belgium will suspend flights and train arrivals from the U.K. for at least 24 hours from midnight Sunday.
Italy will block all flights from the U.K. until Jan. 6. The country’s health ministry said Sunday that the first case of the British variant has also been detected in Italy. The patient is in quarantine in Rome.
Austria will ban flights from the U.K. Bulgaria has suspended flights to and from Britain since midnight, but unlike many other countries with short-term measures, the ban in Bulgaria continues until Jan. 31.
Turkey, like Switzerland, has temporarily banned all flights from the U.K.
Bulgaria has also suspended flights to and from the UK from midnight local time on Sunday, but unlike short-term controls in other countries, Bulgaria’s ban continues until January 31. Turkey and Switzerland, temporarily banned all flights from the UK.
An EU meeting will be held at 10:00 GMT on Monday to coordinate EU action.
Analysis: How scary is the variant virus
James Gallagher, BBC medical and technology affairs correspondent
The new variant of the virus was first identified in September this year, and statistics in November showed that a quarter of confirmed cases in London were from the variant. By mid-December, that number was close to two-thirds.
These three events merged together, and this caused great concern.
It is rapidly replacing other versions of the new coronavirus.
Importantly, it can partially affect the neo-coronavirus mutations.
Some mutations have been tested in the laboratory, and mutations enhance the ability of the virus to infect cells.
These factors have led to a more transmissible variant of the new coronavirus. However, we do not yet have a complete picture of this new variant of the virus. Sometimes, the virus spreads rapidly simply because of the timing or location, such as in London.
The most likely explanation for the unusually high mutability of this strain is that it appears in patients with weak immune systems that are unable to fight the virus.
There is no evidence yet that this variant of the virus is more lethal. And at least we see that the vaccines that have been developed will almost certainly work against it. But the most worrisome point is that the virus has mutated again, avoiding the antibody effect that the vaccine hopes to produce against it and rendering the vaccine ineffective.
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