London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a crisis meeting on Monday in the wake of the fast-spreading mutant variant of the novel coronavirus and a several countries banning flights to and from Britain.
On December 19, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the newly identified strain of the virus may be up to 70 per cent more transmissible. His Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new variant was “out of control”.
So far, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and several European nations, including Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands banned flights to and fro from the UK after report of the mutant strain came to the fore.
While France has blocked people and goods from crossing the Channel, The Netherlands is denying entry to passengers arriving by ferry.
According to an AFP report, air travel from Britain could be restricted by all of the 27-member European Union and that discussions are also being held regarding a joint response over sea, road and rail.
The Prime Minister called the COBR emergencies committee meeting to “discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular, the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK”, a spokesman said, according to a report by AFP.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has called for stronger COVID-19 containment measures across Europe. Speaking to AFP, a WHO spokeswoman said that “across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries need to redouble their control and prevention approaches”.
Scientists across the world are worried about the mutation of the novel coronavirus as drug firms are still in the early stages of rolling out vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new variant, believed to be 70 per cent more transmissible, was first discovered by scientists in a patient in September. An alarm was raised on Friday by Public Health England, a government agency, when modelling revealed the serious nature of the mutant strain.
EU experts, however, believe that the mutant strain will not impact the effectiveness of the existing vaccines.
The emergence of the new strain has forced much of Britain into a lockdown over the Christmas period.
With inputs from AFP, IANS
