Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority informed Israel’s airlines on Sunday that non-Israelis from the UK, Denmark and South Africa are banned from entering the country, with the exception of diplomats.
The move was made following the discovery of a fast-moving new variant of the coronavirus in the UK that is more than 70% more transmissible than existing strains.
Israelis returning from the UK, Denmark and South Africa will be taken to quarantine hotels straight from the airport and will not be allowed to quarantine at home. The order may be extended to include those traveling from Australia and New Zealand as well, Ynet reported.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz instructed the Home Front Command to prepare for the operation of coronavirus hotels for Israelis returning from the affected countries.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein on Sunday called for the government to close down Israel’s airports altogether in light of the threat of the new virus strain entering Israel.
The Netherlands has banned all flights from the UK for at least the rest of the year in an effort to avoid introducing the strain of coronavirus from entering its borders.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday imposed a new, stricter level of coronavirus restrictions in London and much of southern England to curb rapidly spreading infections.
Johnson said Saturday that the capital and large areas in southern England already placed under the highest level of the U.K. government’s three-tiered coronavirus alert system will move into a new Tier 4 that requires all non-essential shops, hairdressers and indoor leisure venues to close after the end of business hours Saturday.
While London fared relatively well in controlling the virus throughout the fall, the city now has the highest infection rates in England. Officials said the new mutation accounted for some 60% of the capital’s cases.
“There’s no evidence to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness,” the prime minister stressed, or that vaccines will be less effective against it.
England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, said the U.K. has alerted the World Health Organization that the new variant identified this week appears to be accelerating the spread of COVID-19. The government’s scientific advisers came to that conclusion based on preliminary modeling figures, and they are continuing to analyze the available data, he said.
No mixing of households will be allowed in Tier 4 except under very limited conditions outside in public places. Travel in and out of Tier 4 areas won’t be allowed unless essential.
The changes upend the plans of millions of people who were looking forward to gathering with family and friends next week and force scores to revise their travel plans at the last minute. Before Saturday, government officials maintained they would allow small, private gatherings to go ahead.
While restaurants, pubs, bars and theaters in much of England are already closed and prepared for a bleak Christmas, all shops in Tier 4 areas that don’t sell food or medicine received only hours’ notice that they must shutter after Saturday until officials review the situation on Dec. 30.
The British Retail Consortium said it was “hugely regrettable news,” especially coming just two weeks after a month-long lockdown in England ended and at the height of the year’s peak retail period.
“Retailers have invested hundreds of millions of pounds making stores COVID–secure for customers and staff,” said Helen Dickinson, the trade body’s chief executive. “For businesses, the government’s stop-start approach is deeply unhelpful.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem & AP)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
See, that’s what I’ve been saying for the longest time!
No real great accomplishment in all this vaccine development. Before too long the virus will outsmart the vaccine and mutate, just like SARS and MARS and Swine Flu and all the othe flus, whose vaccinations help almost no one since they usually protect against LAST YEAR’S VERSION. They don’t do much more than make money for big Pharma, comfort a few gullible people, and get quite a few people seriously sick.
I for one am not ready to stick out my arm and be a Guinea pig.