Netherlands bans UK flights

[RudolphToldRedNoseNotSymptom]

THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT has banned all passenger flights from Britain after finding the first case of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain that is circulating in the UK.

The ban, from 6am local time until 1 January, came hours after Britain announced a stay at home order for part of the country to slow the new variant.

“An infectious mutation of the Covid-19 virus is circulating in the United Kingdom. It is said to spread more easily and faster and is more difficult to detect,” the Dutch health ministry said in a statement.

The Dutch public health body, the RIVM, therefore “recommends that any introduction of this virus strain from the United Kingdom be limited as much as possible by limiting and/or controlling passenger movements.”

The health ministry added that a “case study in the Netherlands at the beginning of December revealed a virus with the variant described in the United Kingdom.”

Experts were looking at how the infection happened and whether there were related cases.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet had now taken the “precautionary decision” to ban flights from Britain, the statement said, adding that other forms of transport were still under review.

He urged Dutch citizens not to travel unless strictly necessary.

“Over the next few days, together with other EU member states, (the government) will explore the scope for further limiting the risk of the new strain of the virus being brought over from the UK,” the statement said.

The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.

The move comes after scientists on the UK Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) concluded the mutant strain identified by the Public Health England laboratories at Porton Down was spreading more quickly.

The UK also informed the World Health Organisation of its findings.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, said the new variant, known as VUI 202012/01, was thought to have originated in either London or Kent in September.

By November, it was accounting for 28% of new infections in the region and by early December that had risen to 60%.

“This new variant not only moves fast but it is becoming the dominant variant,” he said.

He said however there was no evidence it causes a more severe illness than the original virus, while the “working assumption ” of scientists was that the vaccines that had been developed should be able to deal with it.

Should the UK be banning travel out of the UK itself do we think?

For uk residents yes it’s illegal is not a resident

What is illegal for uk residents?

My question at the end was should we be banning all travel out of the UK to any country? As things stand, it's just those in Tier 4 who can not travel internationally.

I think it’s probably too late. It’ll be circulating already in Europe they just don’t know. Could be behind the high numbers in Germany at the mo.

I think we need to put a ban on international travel for a period, full stop!

Yes, but I wished they'd cancelled the borders from the offset.

Sorry, closed!

What is the more difficult to detect part about?

I agree middleager. When we look back on this in a year, international travel should have been banned in early March.

What all europe should of done at the beginning a couple weeks of no travel

I'm interested in the 'more difficult to detect'. Does that mean it's more likely to be asymptomatic, or that it's the strain causing the snotty, sneezy COVID symptoms that have been taking people by surprise?

Great minds Nellodee.

Boris mentioned a ban on tier 4 residents travelling internationally (unless absolutely essential)

Yes, of course the Netherlands are right to ban this entry with high risk of a variant from arriving at all.

And I think, given the number of 'call them your support bubble and go anyway' threads (which show that the attempts to at least slow the spread nationwide will fail) that countries who want to ban anyone from UK are doing the right thing.

The variant is bound to be all over UK in a week or so (it's reached nearly every part in small numbers, and it will increase)

What is the more difficult to detect part about? Oh, hadn't picked up on that bit to be honest. I'm not 100% sure. I can't recall anything from yesterday's press conference stating that.

Yes, and borders should have been closed from the start. But this is typical of the wishy washy way this government has handled the pandemic. Living in a tier 3 area but you could go abroad is madness.
We needed a much much stricter lockdown from the start but Boris didn’t want to be the bad guy and enforce it, and the general public would have been outraged their “civil liberties” and “freedumbs” were being taken away. So we’ve been left with this shitshow and not much that can be done now.

@cathyandclare

Great minds Nellodee.

Or, as the Dutch say, two idiots - one brain

Never mind banning international travel - our government needs to ban internal travel out of Tier 4 areas! Should have been banned without notice because loads of selfish gits got on trains last night.

I'm interested in the 'more difficult to detect'

It means that a positive test does nit tell you which variant. You need further testing to establish that.

All nations with good public health infrastructure will be carrying out surveillance testing so they know what variants exist, how fast variants arise, and whether there is any association with changes in disease pattern. So when Germany or any other European country says it is not present, it means that they have not (yet) found it in any of their surveillance.

I know. I recall a particularly boastful thread a couple of weeks ago from someone who was going to the Bahamas for two weeks and then going skiing to Switzerland! Lol. Nice to know how the other half lives to be fair, but travel for leisure really needs to be looked at critically now. Since we appear to have home-grown this version, we can't blame any other country, but if we had closed our borders in March, we might not be in this situation now. I think that all of Europe needs to seriously consider international travel.

Heathrow had some posts on FB last night about checking with your airline if from Tier 4. I'm not sure how well it will be policed?

Right at the beginning, my friend and a group of his friends (8 in total I think) went for a week skiing in Italy (1-8th March). One of them, a GP, returned and tested positive for COVID. My friend had symptoms but wasn't offered a test at the time. That's how we got it here so badly.

@scaevola

I'm interested in the 'more difficult to detect'

It means that a positive test does nit tell you which variant. You need further testing to establish that.

All nations with good public health infrastructure will be carrying out surveillance testing so they know what variants exist, how fast variants arise, and whether there is any association with changes in disease pattern. So when Germany or any other European country says it is not present, it means that they have not (yet) found it in any of their surveillance.

That makes sense. I suppose the rise in Kent despite Tier 3 was what prompted them to look at it I suppose.

or that it's the strain causing the snotty, sneezy COVID symptoms that have been taking people by surprise?

I really dont think there is a snotty sneezy strain. People just have the cold and happen to get covid at the same time since colds are rife at this time of year.

I think a ban should have been put in place back in March but hey, ho. I do think a travel ban should be put in place. I also think the current quarantine rules for people entering the uk are too lax and as much use as a chocolate fire guard (which is more use than the current cabinet).

I can't quite understand why this government refuses a coordinated approach with all the home nations to lock down the entire country for the same duration of time. Travel is what is transmitting this virus- it cannot go anywhere unless a human is hosting it. So, and forgive me if I sound ignorant- but if we all stayed put and still for a few weeks and ensure those key workers alone are supported and covid safe, wouldn't it then significantly slow down the spread?
Why are flights even going ahead in other parts? They grounded them in March and I believe the same should be happening again. Without this, we will be in and out of local lockdowns until most people are vaccinated ( which I don't trust this govt to roll out properly)- we 're talking 2022 then. I can't bear it.
I cannot understand the incompetence of this government and its reluctance to use the common sense they keep telling us to use

Lockdown 1.0 worked I believe. They rightly moved schools to online blended learning- we should do that again, seeing as they pledged more support and funding to schools and vulnerable families. They should help SME's and extend financial support to those fell through the cracks the first tine round but for goodness sake they should make it easier for most of us to stay put for 4 weeks (give or take)