At least six EU countries announced today (Sunday) that they will close their doors to traffic from the UK, following the spread of the new strain of corona virus in the territory of the kingdom.
Italy, Austria, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands have announced that they have stopped, or will stop in the coming hours, the entry of passengers from the UK following the spread of the virus. In the Netherlands, the decision was made after at least one patient was diagnosed with the new strain of the virus.
British Health Minister Matt Hancock presented a new austerity plan to Parliament, saying: “I know we all really want to celebrate Christmas, but the new strain is out of control and we must act with determination and speed.”
“The new strain is a huge challenge, until we can provide the population with enough vaccines to protect it. This challenge will last for at least the next two months. Unfortunately, people in the most affected areas will have to behave as if they have been infected with the virus.”
Dr Susan Hopkins, an employee of one of the UK’s largest health organizations, told Sky News that the new strain was mostly prevalent in the eastern part of the capital London, but had already spread to all parts of the kingdom except Northern Ireland.
The new mutation discovered last week in the coronavirus is contagious by seventy percent more than the two known strains of the virus, and the global health system hopes that the strain is not resistant to the various corona vaccines, which have begun to be distributed around the world.