Iran Press/ Europe: The disruptions caused by the closing of borders stoked fears of panic buying in British supermarkets, as Britons, already rattled by a surge in infections and a hastily imposed lockdown in much of England, worried about running out of fresh food in the days before Christmas, the New York Times reported.
The current upheaval over the virus mutation grew after Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said that it had been shown to be 70 percent more contagious than other variants. The 70 percent estimate of greater transmissibility is based only on modeling and has not been confirmed by lab experiments, said Muge Cevik, an infectious disease expert at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a scientific adviser to the British government. British officials said there was no reason to believe that the new variant caused more serious illness.
But the statistic raised alarm around the world. France imposed a 48-hour suspension of freight transit across the English Channel, leaving thousands of truck drivers stranded in their vehicles on Monday as the roads leading to England’s ports were turned into parking lots. Officials were working on Tuesday to end the impasse.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland are among the European nations that have announced restrictions on travel.
On Monday, the German authorities formalized a ban on planes, trains, buses, and ships entering from Britain and South Africa, where a similar variant has emerged, until Jan 6. It will stay in place until more emerges about the virus mutations, said Jens Spahn, the German health minister. Some exceptions would be made for returning crews and freight shipments.
Spain announced that only citizens and residents would be allowed to fly into the country from Britain, and it implemented tighter border checks with Gibraltar, the British territory located at the southern tip of Spain. Greece has extended to 10 days the quarantine period for travelers flying in from Britain, a day after raising it to seven days, but has not suspended flights.
Israel is essentially closing its skies to most foreign nationals starting Wednesday afternoon. Saudi Arabia announced a one-week ban on all international travel, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Kuwait on Monday evening suspended all commercial international flights and closed its land and sea borders until Jan. 1.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong on Monday closed its borders to all travelers from Britain, including Hong Kong residents. India has suspended all flights between India and Britain until Dec. 31.
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