The British mutation is spreading in Europe: As more and more countries shut down flights to and from Britain, the French health minister said today (Monday) that there is concern that the new strain of corona virus detected in neighboring Britain is already circulating in France, but tests to detect it have yet to reveal any findings.
The Italian health minister also confirmed last night that a patient of the British strain in Italy, who had returned from England “a few days ago”, had been identified and is now in isolation. Additional cases of infection with the new mutation have also been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia. The EU has announced that it will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss the mutation.
Pfizer’s corona vaccine. Photo: Reuters
Last week, the British Ministry of Health announced that about 1,000 cases of infection with the new strain had been detected in the country and that it was a much more contagious mutation than the original, up to 70% more. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will convene an emergency meeting today to discuss the issue of international travel to and from the UK.
As mentioned, most European countries have already stopped flights from the UK due to fears of the virus – including Israel, along with Norway, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium and Canada. Poland also announced that from midnight onwards, flights from the UK would be suspended, and the Danish Minister of Transport updated that from today for 48 hours, flights between the two countries will be stopped. Scotland, the British Isles country, has banned residents from leaving for other areas in the kingdom and Spain, although it has not imposed new restrictions, is demanding from the union a coordinated response to the situation.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there was a great deal of uncertainty about him: “The mutation of the virus is spreading rapidly and it appears that it is particularly difficult to gain control over it.” Accordingly, Hancock clarified that he estimates that the closure imposed on large areas of the country, including the capital London, is expected to extend for a longer period of time. Asked in an interview with Sky News about his assessment of the closure target, Hancock said: “We are struggling to gain control of the virus but it is particularly difficult.” Hancock estimated that “it appears to be difficult to control it before the effect of the vaccine takes effect.”
An extensive closure was imposed on many areas in the UK yesterday, with the aim of trying to stop the rapid spread of the new mutation. The British Minister of Health said in an interview that the purpose of the closure is first and foremost to stop the rise in morbidity. Last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was estimated that the new mutation was more contagious than the known virus at rates of almost 70%.
Meanwhile, the British media are reporting that there is currently no indication that the new corona virus mutation is more lethal than the known virus. They added that there was no reason to believe that the vaccines against Corona would be ineffective against the new mutation. The World Health Organization has said it is in close contact with the UK government regarding the developments and examination of the new mutation.
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