London, UK (CWBN)_ Increasing fears over the new strain of the Covid-19 virus triggered a fresh spectrum of travel bans against the UK from forty countries, including Argentina, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Kuwait, Pakistan, Ireland and Russia, alongside several key European states.
At the time of writing, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ecuador have imposed travel restrictions.
The European Union is currently in the process of formulating its collective response to the development.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed that the new viral variant is “out of control”, which had forced the local government to implement Tier IV restrictions over the weekend, just days ahead of Christmas, despite assurances that restrictions would be eased for the season.
It was also noted that the new strain is about 70 percent more transmissible. Nonetheless, this is yet to be confirmed.
Executive Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme, Michael J. Ryan, added that the discovery of new strains of a disease were a normal part of the evolution of a pandemic, and that it is not out of control, BBC reported.
Owing the to the travel bans, as previously reported, British travellers, including families with children, have wound trapped in airports pending Covid test results, while freight trucks came to a standstill before ports and the Euro tunnel.
It has been reported that over 10,000 trucks pass through the Dover Port daily, and accounts for 20 percent of traded goods.
British PM Boris Johnson assured the public that he was in conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron over lifting the 48 hour travel ban in order to “to unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible.”
Moreover, the European Union has also given the green light to the Pfizer vaccine. It is expected that the immunisation campaign will commence just after Christmas.
