No fewer than 40 countries have
suspended travel from Britain in a bid to contain a fast-spreading new
strain of the coronavirus.
Among them are four African
countries – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritius, with Nigeria also
considering to suspend travel from the UK.
The chairman of the Presidential
Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, at a press briefing on Monday said, “A
lot of discussions is still going on around the calls for the restriction of
international travels due to the discovery of new strains of the virus in
certain countries.
“The protection of Nigerians remains our primary concern and we reassure Nigerians of our resolve not to relent.”
NigerianEye had
earlier reported that scientists at the Redeemer’s University, Nigeria,say they have found the United Kingdom’s ‘lineage B.1.1.7,’ a mutant variant of the COVID-19 global pandemic, in Nigeria.
Scotland had already closed its
border with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Here are some of travel bans
announced so far.
– France –
France has halted all travel from Britain for 48 hours, including anyone
transporting goods by road, air, sea or rail.
Paris and London are in talks
over testing at ports to reopen the border, British Home Secretary Priti Patel
said.
– Germany –
Germany is extending a ban on all arrivals from the UK and South Africa – where
the new strain has also appeared – until January 6.
– Spain and Portugal –
Spain and Portugal are suspending flights, with Madrid only allowing its
nationals or residents to enter from Britain.
– India –
India has suspended all flights until December 31, with anyone arriving from
Britain on transit flights to be tested.
Its financial capital Mumbai is
being put under curfew over fears of the British strain.
– Poland –
Poland – which has a large ex-pat
community in Britain – has banned all incoming UK flights.
– Hong Kong –
The former British colony has banned all incoming UK flights, and extended the
quarantine of passengers who arrived from Britain in the last fortnight.
– Netherlands –
Passenger flights from Britain have been banned until January 1. One case of
the new strain has been found in the country.
– Ireland –
Flights from Britain from Monday have been banned for at least 48 hours.
– Italy –
Italy has blocked flights from Britain and prohibited entry of people who have
stayed there during the last 14 days.
The new strain has been found in
one person who recently returned from the UK.
– Russia –
Moscow is suspending British flights for a week.
– Rest of Europe –
Finland is suspending flights for two weeks and Switzerland until
further notice, with travellers who have arrived from Britain or South Africa
ordered into quarantine.
Baltic nations Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania as well as Belgium and Luxembourg have
also halted flights, while in the Balkans, Croatia, Macedonia, and
Albania followed suit with Bulgaria and suspended
them until January 31.
Romania has banned
all flights to and from the UK for two weeks, as has the Czech Republic.
Norway and Denmark suspended
flights for 48 hours.
Denmark has detected nine cases
of the new strain on its soil.
– Canada –
Canada has banned all UK flights for 72 hours, with those who had already
arrived from Britain subject to screenings.
– Turkey –
Turkey has suspended flights from Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and South
Africa.
– Middle East –
Saudi Arabia and Oman said they were closing their borders entirely for at
least a week.
Israel said it was
barring entry to foreign citizens travelling from Britain, Denmark and South
Africa, while Jordan is banning UK flights for a fortnight, as
is Iran.
Kuwait has added
Britain to a list of “high-risk” nations and banned flights.
– Africa –
Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia have all banned flights from Britain,
with Algeria deciding to stop repatriating its nationals.
Mauritius, a former British
colony, has also barred travel from the UK and South Africa.
– Latin America –
Anyone who had been in Britain or South Africa in the past 30 days will not be
allowed to enter El Salvador.
Peru has gone
further, banning all flights from Europe and any foreigner who had been in
Britain in the last fortnight.
Chile and Argentina have
banned flights from the UK, with anyone without a Chilean residence permit who
had been in Britain in the past two weeks barred.
AFP
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