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Europe on Wednesday began to relax travel bans to Britain to contain a new strain of Covid-19 which UK officials say is spreading faster as WHO experts gathered to discuss a response to the variant.
The discovery of the new strain has raised alarm bells around the world, as more countries including Switzerland and Qatar have launched vaccination campaigns to end a pandemic that has left more than 1, 7 million dead since it started a year ago in China.
The European Commission has urged EU countries to reopen their borders to Britain and replace blockades with mandatory testing for arrivals.
Thanks to France’s easing of a 48-hour blockade, truck drivers stranded in the UK were finally offered a way home after thousands were stranded around the port of Dover For days.
Under the new French rules, EU nationals and residents are allowed to return home with a negative Covid test, although the British remain banned.
Passengers boarded a Eurostar train at St Pancras International Station in London as services prepare to resume. By Tolga Akmen (AFP) But given the back-up, some truckers feared there was little chance of crossing the English Channel in time for the holidays, and clashes erupted with police as tensions mounted.
“Home for Christmas?” Forget it, ”said Laurent Beghin, a French truck driver who delivered a shipment of paint to the UK on Sunday and was still stranded in England on Wednesday.
Drivers pushed against police, shouting, during scuffles as they complained about inadequate facilities and lack of virus testing at a fleet of trucks where they were forced to wait.
Passengers with negative viral tests also boarded the first Eurostar trains from London to France since the borders closed on Wednesday, eager to spend Christmas with their families.
The Netherlands said it was lifting its UK travel ban on Wednesday, but noted that all passengers, including EU citizens, must have a recent negative test to enter.
Scientists are still trying to forge a plan to control the various strains of Covid-19, with the European branch of the World Health Organization meeting on Wednesday.
UK imports of fruit and vegetables from the top five countries as a percentage for 2019. By Jonathan WALTER (AFP) WHO Director for Europe Hans Kluge wrote on Twitter that the organization “will discuss strategies for testing, reducing transmission and communicating risks.”
He added that “limiting movement to contain the spread is prudent until we have better information.”
The new strain of the virus, which has also been detected in small numbers elsewhere, appears to spread more easily than other types, but experts say there is no evidence that it is more deadly or resistant to vaccines .
Britain introduced restrictions on travel from South Africa on Wednesday due to the spread of another new variant of the coronavirus, British Minister of Health Matt Hancock said.
Swiss vaccination
Canada also approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the American biotechnology company Moderna on Wednesday, two weeks after authorizing immunizations with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
As the European Union prepares to launch vaccinations across the bloc on Sunday, Switzerland got a head start on Wednesday by delivering its first jabs in the Lucerne region.
A nursing home resident in her 90s was the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after it was approved by Swiss regulators. By – (KEYSTONE / AFP) A nursing home resident in her 90s was the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after it was approved by Swiss regulators.
Qatar and Dubai also gave their first blow on Wednesday, while hard-hit Serbia and Mexico are next in line with plans to start vaccinations on Thursday.
The co-founder of BioNTech assured that the vaccine of the company is “highly likely” to act against the mutated strain detected in Great Britain.
And if not, the vaccine could be adapted in six weeks, Ugur Sahin said, adding that tests are already underway on the variant.
In the worst-affected country in the world, the United States, infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci received his blow from Covid-19 as officials continued to seek to gain public trust.
The EU will start with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after Christmas. By Patrick T. Fallon (AFP / File) But President Donald Trump’s shocking rejection of a Congress-passed $ 900 billion relief plan has raised concerns.
Trump has said he will refuse to accept the bill as is and demanded changes, including a sharp increase in direct payments of $ 600 offered to less well-off Americans.
Lawmakers can override his veto if he accepts it.
There was positive news in Australia, where Sydney eased lockdown restrictions for Christmas after the country’s largest city reported a second day of new single-digit cases.
Egypt, however, has canceled all New Year’s celebrations in a bid to stem an increase in cases.
The Czech government has also extended its state of emergency and announced tighter restrictions, including closing shops amid an increase in cases.
And in Thailand, meanwhile, elephants dressed in Christmas costumes for an annual tradition handed out pandemic-friendly gifts to schoolchildren: baskets of face masks.
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