There are fears over the new strain that is prevalent in southern England
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The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Italy have banned flights from the UK and Germany is considering limiting such flights in an attempt to ensure that a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England does not establish a strong foothold on the Continent.
The Netherlands banned the flights for at least the rest of the year, while Belgium issued a ban for 24 hours starting at midnight and also halted train links to Britain. The Netherlands said it would assess "with other European Union nations the possibilities to contain the import of the virus from the United Kingdom".
Italy plans to suspend flights to and from Britain over fears of the new strain, Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio said in a Facebook post.
"As a government we have the duty to protect Italians, for this reason, after having notified the British government, with the Ministry of Health we are about to sign the provision to suspend flights with Great Britain," Di Maio said. "Our priority is to protect Italy and our compatriots."
Eurostar’s trains between Belgium and the UK have been cancelled from Monday, Dec 21, following the Belgian government’s announcement that borders with the UK will close at midnight on Dec 20.
No trains will run between London, Brussels and Amsterdam. Trains continue to operate on the Paris route.
International comparison of coronavirus test rates and death rates
The World Health Organization is calling on its members in Europe to strengthen measures against coronavirus due to the new variant circulating in the United Kingdom, its European branch told the AFP agency on Sunday.
Outside Britain, nine cases of the new strain have been reported in Denmark, as well as one case in the Netherlands and another in Australia, according to the WHO. "Across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries need to redouble their control and prevention approaches," a spokesman for WHO Europe said.
Meanwhile in Germany, officials were considering "serious options" regarding incoming flights from the UK, but have not yet taken action. The Irish government will make a statement on travel restrictions from Britain later on Sunday, but sources said a ban on flights and ferries to and from Ireland was under consideration.
The EU governments say their response comes in reaction to tougher measures imposed on Saturday in London and the South East by Boris Johnson, who revealed that a fast-moving new variant of the virus is 70 per cent more transmissible than existing strains and appears to be driving the rapid spread of new infections in London and southern England.
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The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, said on Sunday that he was issuing the flight ban for 24 hours starting at midnight "out of precaution."
"There are a great many questions about this new mutation and if it is not already on the mainland," he said. He hoped to have more clarity by Tuesday.
Germany has not yet spelled out a ban but is considering limiting or halting flights from the UK as well, the dpa news agency reported. A high-ranking German official told the agency that restrictions on flights from Britain were a "serious option".
Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation EU, was in contact with its neighbors and was following all developments about the new variant closely, dpa reported.
Britain has seen over 67,000 deaths in the pandemic, the second-highest confirmed toll in Europe after Italy.
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