Several European nations, yesterday banned flights from the United Kingdom in order to contain the new strain of the coronavirus that is rapidly spreading across southern England from gaining traction on the continent.
Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy and Ireland all announced restrictions on U.K. travel less than a week before Christmas.
According to reports, the Netherlands banned flights from the U.K. for at least the rest of the year while Belgium issued a flight ban for 24 hours starting at midnight and also halted train links to Britain, including the Eurostar, the international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands via the Channel Tunnel. The train line canceled service between London, Brussels and Amsterdam beginning today. However,it kept trains operating on the London-to-Paris route.
Austria and Italy said they would halt flights from the U.K. but did not say exactly when that would take place. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic imposed stricter quarantine measures on people arriving from Britain.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, on Sunday, Inna tweet said that Italy, once the epicenter of the pandemic in Europe earlier this year, suspended flights from Great Britain to protect Italians.
The U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, also warned on Sunday that the new variant is out of control. In appearances on BBC’s shows, Hancock said everyone should act as if they have the virus, and suggested restrictions announced Saturday in Tier 4 areas could remain in place for at least the next several months until the vaccines can be distributed across the country.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn, on Sunday said that Germany also banned all passenger flights from the U.K. as of Sunday midnight, He said the government on Monday will impose additional restrictions on travel between the U.K. and South Africa after reviewing reports about mutated viruses.
Martina Fietz, spokeswoman for the federal government in Berlin, confirmed that German leaders were in contact with their European partners, and the federal police tweeted that people should only travel to the U.K. if it is absolutely necessary.
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