Covid-19 pandemic: International alarm grows over new variant
Covid-19 pandemic: International alarm grows over new variant
bnewsus
Published December 22, 2020
There is growing international alarm over a new variant of the coronavirus in the UK, with a host of countries imposing travel bans.
More than 40 have blocked flights or travel links with the UK, as the EU held talks on forming a common policy.
Sweden banned foreign travellers from Denmark after cases of the variant were discovered there.
It appears to be more transmissible, but there is no evidence it is more deadly.
As the list of countries imposing travel restrictions on the UK grew, the World Health Organization (WHO) sought to put the risks in context.
WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan said new strains were a normal part of the evolution of a pandemic, and that it was not “out of control”, contradicting the UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who used those words on Sunday.
In another development, travellers from South Africa are also facing bars from some countries after another new variant of the virus was discovered that is unrelated to the one found in the UK.
