London – There is a new strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, which health experts say is more contagious. At least 40 countries are taking drastic measures to isolate Britain, close borders, disrupt trade routes and restrict travel, resulting in chaotic scenes at airports and roads.
Despite this, experts say there is currently no evidence that the new strain causes the disease to be more serious. It is also unclear whether this strain is already here in America. There are growing calls to ban all flights from the UK to the United States. The restrictions come as the US becomes the first country to hire two vaccines against COVID-19.
In London, some passengers crowded the stations, desperate to get out of the city. Britain stopped just two days ago after a variant of COVID-19 that was spreading like wildfire was revealed.
The holiday trip doesn’t seem to be slowing down. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said British Airways and Delta Airlines have agreed to begin testing passengers traveling from London to New York as concerns about the new strain that health experts say no it seems more dangerous, but certainly more contagious.
Hundreds of trucks in the crowded port of Dover are now idle after France tightened its borders, raising real concerns about food shortages. Panic is now spreading around the globe.
To date, Americans can still travel from the UK to the US without government restrictions. But with infections in the new COVID-19 strain still shooting at the roof and huge chunks of the south-east of England, now under strict blockade, it’s an uphill battle.
The new strain was first detected in September and now accounts for almost two-thirds of all new transmissions in the UK. Experts say it contains mutations that make it up to 70% more infectious than other strains.
The World Health Organization insists that coronavirus is moving “at a much slower pace” than seasonal flu. But this latest crisis is unlike any other and it is now up to the British government to find a way out of it.
In New York, Cuomo is sounding the alarm. “This is a disaster waiting to happen,” Cuomo said Monday. – Why don’t we do anything?
Dr. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, said it was too early to say the impact of the strain. “At this time, there is no evidence that this new variant will make our vaccine less effective or that it will make the tests less effective,” said Rivers.
Despite CDC warnings urging Americans to avoid travel, the nation’s airports are busier than ever since the pandemic began. The TSA has checked more than 3 million passengers in the last three days.
In California, where hospitalizations have again reached a record high, there has been despair in the voice of a doctor.
“If you went to my hospital, you wouldn’t feel like you were in the United States,” said Dr. Armand Dorian of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.
Hospitals in Los Angeles County have never been charged like this before. Amid so much misery within the nation’s COVID-19 sections, there was a welcome sight in Kentucky.
Phillip Draper, 65, was released from a Kentucky hospital this weekend after 21 days with maximum oxygen support. He was able to hug his wife.
“I love you. Let’s take you home,” she said.
Mola Lenghi contributed to the reporting.