Hassan Recommends Suspension of Flights from Britain over New Virus Strain
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced on Monday that the scientific committee at the health ministry issued a recommendation to suspend all flights from Britain for several days until things clarify out.
He said amid the holiday season “we have to commit to the preventive measures, otherwise the repercussions may be tragic and sad.”
Countries around the world have begun banning flights and travelers from Britain as London announced the spread of a more-infectious new coronavirus strain was now "out of control".
Scientists first discovered the new variant -- which they believe is 70 percent more transmissible -- in a patient in September. And Public Health England notified the government on Friday when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain.
But Britain's chief medical officer Chris Whitty pointed out that while the new strain was greatly more infectious, "there is no current evidence to suggest (it) causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is underway to confirm this."
Source: Naharnet
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