Coronavirus: WHO to meet as EU eases UK travel bans over mutant Covid-19 strain
- European Commission urged EU nations to lift travel bans on Britain
- Global death toll surpasses 1.7 million, with 78 million reported cases
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Europe on Wednesday began lifting travel bans on Britain put in place to contain a new fast-spreading Covid strain while WHO experts were set to meet on a response to it.
There was however positive news in Australia, where Sydney eased lockdown restrictions for Christmas after the country’s largest city reported a second day of new cases in the single digits.
The new coronavirus variant has swept the UK and spurred global panic just as vaccines are being rolled out.
Japan, South Korea, Philippines and Singapore restrict travel from UK
But the European Commission on Tuesday urged EU nations to lift travel bans imposed on Britain in recent days.
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 it is more lethal or resistant to vaccines.
The discovery unleashed panic that led to more than two dozen countries suspending UK flights, threatening travel chaos during the holiday season.
The European Union instead urged virus tests be carried out on passengers within 72 hours before travel.
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“Flight and train bans should be discontinued given the need to ensure essential travel and avoid supply chain disruptions,” the EU said.
The ban on arrivals in France has led to logjam of freight lorries in southern England and has disrupted passenger travel in the run-up to Christmas.
The Netherlands also said it was lifting its ban but noted that all passengers, including EU citizens, must have a recent negative test to enter.
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The World Health Organization in Europe said its experts would meet on Wednesday to discuss how to handle the outbreak, saying “limiting travel to contain spread is prudent until we have better info”.
WHO’s Europe director Hans Kluge wrote on Twitter that the organisation would “discuss strategies for testing, reducing transmission & communicating risks”.
Germany on Tuesday extended its ban on arrivals from the UK – as well as South Africa, where a similar variant has been found – until January 6.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said that “as long as it is possible”, Germany aims to prevent “potentially dangerous virus mutations from spreading in continental Europe”.
The new Covid-19 strain was possibly already in the US, Germany, France and Switzerland, officials in those countries said.
Several Swiss regions started vaccination campaigns against Covid-19 on Wednesday, four days before immunisation is scheduled to start in the surrounding European Union.
One of the first people in Switzerland to get a shot against the disease was a 90-year-old woman who lives in an elderly care home near Lucerne, the local health authority said.
And if not, the vaccine could be adapted in six weeks, said Ugur Sahin, adding that tests are already being run on the variant.
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But Trump’s rejection of the US$900 billion Covid relief package passed overwhelmingly by Congress led to concern, though lawmakers can override his veto if he goes through with it.
Meanwhile, two cardinals close to Pope Francis have contracted Covid-19, according to sources in the Vatican, where efforts were under way to trace their recent contacts.
The 84-year-old pope, known for his love of getting close to the faithful, has been reluctant to wear a mask despite the pandemic that has hit Italy hard.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
