Britain: New Coronavirus Variant found, flights from UK canceled

The detection of a new Coronavirus variant in Britain has forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to declare yet another stringent lockdown.

The National Health Service on Sunday warned that this lockdown could last for months since the new variant of the virus was “out of control.”

“The decision, which Mr. Johnson announced after an emergency meeting of his cabinet, came after the government got new evidence of a variant first detected several weeks ago in southeast England, which the prime minister asserted was as much as 70 percent more transmissible than previous versions,” found a report by the New York Times.

The administration believes that the only solution is to wait until the vaccine has been fully rolled out in the country. The country also had to ban Christmas season gatherings beyond individual households.

Related Read: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the chief guest at republic day 2021

The Official Twitter Account of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India had tweeted today that they would temporarily suspend flights from the UK.

The Ministry had tweeted the following:

This suspension to start w.e.f. 23.59 hours, 22nd December 2020. Consequently flights from India to UK shall stand temporarily suspended during above said period.

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) December 21, 2020

As a measure of abundant precaution, passengers arriving from UK in all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights which are reaching India before 22nd Dec at 23.59 hrs) should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival at the airports concerned.

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) December 21, 2020

At least 27 countries have banned UK flights for the next 48 to 72 hours. The countries include Canada, Columbia, Argentina, Italy, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Kuwait and so on.

WHO Response

The WHO has maintained that they will be in close contact with UK officials until the analysis of the new strain has been completed. All countries have been asked to remain on high alert and maintain necessary safety precautions.

“We are in close contact with UK officials. They will continue to share information and results of their analysis and ongoing research. We will update the public and member states as we learn more, and have a clearer picture of the characteristics of this variant,” the WHO said.

“In the meantime, we advise people to take all protective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and comply with national authorities’ guidance,” they added.