COVID-19

China suspends UK flights over new virus strain

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

China suspends UK flights over new virus strain

TRAVEL LIMITS. Passengers, wearing protective face masks, walk at the arrival area of the Beijing Capital International Airport on January 31, 2020

File photo by Noel Celis/AFP

China joins the growing list of countries banning flights to and from UK after it reported a new COVID-19 strain

China on Thursday, December 24, suspended flights to and from Britain after it reported a new, more infectious strain of the coronavirus.

China has largely curbed the spread of COVID-19 within its borders, but authorities remain highly vigilant about the threat of “imported” virus cases.

“Given the exceptional nature of the virus mutation and its potential impact… China has suspended flights between China and the UK after full assessment,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a routine briefing.

As fears rose over the new virus strain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium halted UK flights earlier this week.

Turkey and Canada have also banned incoming flights from Britain indefinitely.

China has already imposed strict entry requirements to curb the spread of the coronavirus and last month banned foreign arrivals from a number of countries including Britain, Belgium, India, and the Philippines.

International carriers are largely limited to one flight per week per foreign city. The new flight ban will prevent Chinese nationals based in Britain from returning to China. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!