COVID-19: European Nations Ban UK Flights As New Strain Of Virus Surfaces

'Dotun Akintomide
Writer

Ad

Tinubu jets out again, to France, UK, on vacation, shortly after Japan, Brazil trips

By Obinna Uballa President Bola Tinubu on Thursday departed Abuja for Europe to begin a 10-day working vacation, the State House has announced. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President will spend the period between France and the United Kingdom as part of his 2025 annual…

Outrage, tears over Enugu fatal crashes involving Dangote trucks

• Company blames third-party operator By Obinna Uballa Public anger is mounting after two fatal accidents involving Dangote-branded trucks occurred on Wednesday along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, reportedly killing people, including an entire family and a tricycle passenger identified as Ebuka, whose father reportedly died in a similar crash last year. Eyewitnesses described the scenes…

State police: Activist warns against misuse as Tinubu gets support from Afenifere, MBF

By Obinna Uballa Security expert Salaudeen Hashimu has welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s pronouncement to the effect that the Federal government will commence steps aimed at establishing state police but warned that without strong safeguards, the initiative could be hijacked for political purposes. Speaking on News Central on Thursday, Hashimu, who served as programme officer at…

Ad

Agency Report– European countries have started banning flights coming from the UK as government in London warned that a potent new strain of the virus was “out of control”.

Following the example of the Netherlands, where a ban on all UK passenger flights came into effect on Sunday, a German government source said Berlin, too, was considering a similar move as “a serious option” for flights from both Britain and South Africa.

The Dutch ban came into effect from 0500GMT and will last until January 1. And neighbouring Belgium also said it was suspending flight and train arrivals from Britain from midnight.

The moves come as around a third of England’s population entered a Christmas lockdown and UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new strain of virus was “out of control”.

Christmas lockdown across Europe

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said the day before that millions of Britons would have to cancel their Christmas plans and stay home because the new strain was spreading far more quickly.

Speaking on Sky News, Hancock said the situation was “deadly serious.”

“It’s going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out,” he said.

It seems that scientists first discovered the new variant in a patient in September.

Susan Hopkins of Public Health England told Sky News that the agency notified the government on Friday when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain.

She confirmed a figure given by Johnson that the new virus strain could be 70 percent more transmissible.

Last week, Europe has become the first region in the world to pass 500,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic broke out a year ago, killing more than 1.6 million worldwide and pitching the global economy into turmoil.

Countries are shutting down their economies again in a bid to rein in the virus.

The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.

Italy also announced a new regime of restrictions until January 6 that included limits on people leaving their homes more than once a day, closing non-essential shops, bars and restaurants and curbs on regional travel.

Ad

X whatsapp