The new strain of Covid-19, which prompted the British government to impose a level 4 blockade in London and south-east England and restrict restrictions for the whole of England during the festive period, is “out of control”, the secretary said on Sunday. health, Matt Hancock. .
The Netherlands bans all passenger flights coming from the UK on Sunday morning to minimize “as much as possible” the risk of the new strain spreading to the Netherlands, according to a government press release. The flight ban will remain in effect until the new year.
The Dutch government has said that the same variant of the virus has been detected in the Netherlands in a sample of a case since early December and is conducting further investigations to determine if there are other related cases.
Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Belgium would block travel to Britain for 24 hours on Monday as a “precautionary measure”, although the ban could be extended if necessary.
“As a precaution, we decided to stop flights from the UK from midnight for a period of 24 hours, and just as important for our country, to do the same for Eurostar (train) – because it is fact the main way that people from the UK come to our country, “he said, speaking to CNN VRT’s Sunday morning news program” De Zevende Dag. “
Hancock said the new variant, which can spread faster than other strains but is not more dangerous, had to be controlled.
“The only way you can do this is by restricting social contacts and, in essence, especially in level 4 areas, everyone has to behave as if they could have the virus and that’s how we can control it for to keep people safe, “he said on Sunday.
Severe coronavirus restrictions
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that London and large parts of southern and eastern England, where there are growing cases, will enter Level 4 restrictions, similar to the blockade seen in the spring – just days after he reiterated his commitment to relax the rules over Christmas.
Johnson pointed out that in level 4 areas under the harshest restrictions, there will be no possibility of mixing the Christmas household. In areas with lower alert levels in England, Scotland and Wales, mixing will now only be allowed on Christmas Day.
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Johnson said the virus strain appears to be spreading more easily and may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the previous strain.
Medical director Chris Whitty said on Saturday that the new variant is responsible for 60% of infections in London, which have almost doubled in the last week.
As with other new variants or strains of Covid-19, it has a genetic footprint that makes it easy to track and happens to be one that is now common. This does not mean that the mutation has made it easier to spread, nor does it necessarily mean that this variation is more dangerous.
Several experts in the genetics and epidemiology of viruses find that it could only be a “lucky” strain that has been amplified due to a spreading event; it could be the mutation that somehow makes it spread more easily without causing more serious illness; or it could just be accidental.
However, the government’s scientific advisory group for Covid-19 also warned that the new strain is a “real cause for concern” and called for urgent action. On Twitter, Jeremy Farrar said: “Research is underway to understand more, but urgent action is now essential. There is no part of the UK and the world that is not concerned. As in many countries “The situation is fragile.”
Londoners are fleeing the capital under new restrictions
When asked about the timing of the Level 4 restrictions, which have effectively brought some parts of the UK back into the blockade seen in the spring, Hancock said on Sunday: “Given how quickly this new variant is spreading, it will be very difficult to keep under control until we launch the vaccine. “
Hancock added that what really matters “is that people don’t just follow [the new Tier 4 measures], but everyone in a level 4 area acts like you have the virus so you don’t spread it to other people. (…) We only know that this new variant, you can catch it more easily from a smaller amount of the virus present. “
“All the different measures we have, we need more of them to control the spread of the new variant than to control the spread of the old variant,” he added in response to current measures to protect people, such as the use of masks and the 2-meter (6.5-foot) rule was enough to protect people from the new strain.
However, Londoners crowded trains and motorways on Saturday night as they hurried out of the capital ahead of new restrictions announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Until 7 pm on Saturday night, there were no vacancies on trains leaving London from several stations in the capital, PA Media reported. The passengers complained that they could not socially distance themselves inside the train cars.
The scenes were condemned by politicians and public health experts. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the introduction of restrictions “devastating” in a BBC interview, adding that scenes at London stations “were a direct consequence of the chaotic manner in which the announcement was made and the late stage in which it was made”.
“I understand why people want to go back to see their mothers, fathers, old relationships, but I think it’s wrong,” he said.
Arnaud Siad and James Frater contributed to the reporting.