THE HAGUE, Dec 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The Dutch government on Sunday banned
all passenger flights from Britain after finding the first case of a new,
more infectious coronavirus strain that is circulating in the UK.
The ban, from 6am (0500 GMT) on Sunday until January 1, came hours after
Britain announced a stay at home order for part of the country to slow the
new variant.
“An infectious mutation of the COVID-19 virus is circulating in the United
Kingdom. It is said to spread more easily and faster and is more difficult to
detect,” the Dutch health ministry said in a statement.
The Dutch public health body, the RIVM, therefore “recommends that any
introduction of this virus strain from the United Kingdom be limited as much
as possible by limiting and/or controlling passenger movements.”
The health ministry added that a “case study in the Netherlands at the
beginning of December revealed a virus with the variant described in the
United Kingdom.”
Experts were looking at how the infection happened and whether there were
related cases.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet had now taken the “precautionary
decision” to ban flights from Britain, the statement said, adding that other
forms of transport were still under review.
He urged Dutch citizens not to travel unless strictly necessary.
“Over the next few days, together with other EU member states, (the
government) will explore the scope for further limiting the risk of the new
strain of the virus being brought over from the UK,” the statement said.
The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with
schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said early data suggests the virus
circulating in London and southeast England is up to 70 percent more
transmissible.