Coronavirus LIVE Updates: No Need to Panic Over New Covid-19 Strain, Says Centre as Kejriwal Asks for All Flights from UK to be Banned ‘Immediately’

US authorities are wanting “very carefully” into the virus variant spreading within the United Kingdom, high well being officers mentioned Sunday, whereas indicating {that a} ban on UK journey was not presently within the playing cards. The information got here as a US skilled panel really helpful these aged 75 and older ought to be the subsequent vaccinated in opposition to the virus, together with 30 million “frontline essential workers,” together with academics, grocery retailer workers and police. Addressing the virus variant, Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor to the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program, advised CNN’s “State of the Union” that US officers “don’t know yet” whether it is current within the nation. “We are, of course… looking very carefully into this,” together with on the National Institutes of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he mentioned. At the second, he mentioned, no pressure of the virus seems to be resistant to the vaccines obtainable.

Although mutations of the Sars-CoV-2 have been reported in current months from varied elements of the world, the VUI-202012/01 variant traced within the UK has raised trigger for concern. Addressing a press convention, PM Johnson mentioned that preliminary information evidenced that it’s 70% extra transmissible.

The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), an skilled committee of the UK Department of Health and Social Care, in its report concluded that it has “moderate confidence that VUI-202012/01 demonstrates a substantial increase in transmissibility compared to other variants.” The UK authorities’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty was additionally quoted as saying by The Guardian, “Nervtag now considers that the new strain can spread more quickly. We have alerted the World Health Organization and are continuing to analyse the available data to improve our understanding.”

Britain’s European neighbours started closing their doorways to travellers from the United Kingdom amid alarm a few quickly spreading pressure of coronavirus that has brought about instances to soar there. France mentioned it could bar all folks coming from the UK for 48 hours from Sunday evening, together with freight carriers, whether or not by highway, air, sea or rail. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands ordered a suspension of flights from Britain, whereas Ireland mentioned it could impose restrictions on flights and ferries from its neighbour.