Europe wants to protect itself against the new strain of Coronavirus which would be 70% more contagious

There is alert and nervousness across Europe for the new variant of the coronavirus detected in the UK, that it would be 70% more contagious than the original and “is out of control”, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock warned yesterday.

Just Saturday and due to the peak in infections, the UK government announced new restrictions for London and the south-east of England, when residents are required to stay at home, with limited exceptions, recreational facilities and non-essential services are closed and homework is enforced except in final circumstances.

The news prompted a swift reaction from the governments of 11 European countries, who announced the immediate imposition of restrictions on flights and transport from the UK. The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic and Bulgaria announced exceptional measures to prevent entry of the new variant .

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday had telephone contacts with other leaders of the The EU must agree on a common response and, for today, a meeting of all EU countries has been convened by videoconference to address the response common to the new strain: the objective is to share available information and related measures.

Travel restrictions also exacerbate the UK’s problems, as it will finally leave the European Union on December 31, after a transition period this year, without yet having agreed on a post-Brexit trade deal, which will enhance the outlook. chaos in freight traffic.

The first country to announce border closures was the Netherlands, followed by the cancellation of flights by Belgium, Austria, France, Italy and Sweden. For its part, Argentina has also announced its intention to suspend flights with Great Britain from this Tuesday.