More than 20 countries of the world have suspended transport links with the UK amid a new mutation of the coronavirus, reports the Sky News TV channel.
Restrictions on entry from the UK were introduced mainly by European countries. The authorities of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, France and the Czech Republic have decided to temporarily suspend flights with the UK. Portugal only allowed its citizens to enter the UK. Sweden plans to officially add to the list of countries that have banned entry from the UK on December 21. Spain also plans to suspend flights if similar measures are not taken at the level of the entire European Union .
Similar measures have been taken in other parts of the world. Canada has suspended flights to the UK for 72 hours. Israel has banned entry from the UK to anyone except its own citizens. Turkey has suspended flights to the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and South Africa, where a new mutation of the coronavirus has also been found. The authorities in Colombia, El Salvador, Chile, Argentina and Morocco have also cut off flights to the UK. Saudi Arabia completely closed its borders and stopped flights for a week.
An emergency meeting of the European Union is expected to take place on December 21, which will discuss the introduction of restrictions on transport links with the UK at the level of all 27 member states.
The mutated virus was also found in patients in the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and Italy. According to experts, it is still impossible to talk about its greater danger and reduced susceptibility to vaccines.
On December 14, UK Health Minister Matthew Hancock reported that a a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 that spreads faster than the original form. The virus is more easily transmitted from person to person and therefore more contagious, he said.