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?

Yes, I really think that they need to put the entire UK into Tier 4. I know Boris doesn't want to be unpopular, but this ongoing saga is crippling the country.

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?

Orrrrrr if they had just closed the bloody schools weeks ago.

Looks like they're going to be closing the schools with hindsight now. It's international travel that I'd like banned.

@RudolphToldRedNoseNotSymptom

Looks like they're going to be closing the schools with hindsight now. It's international travel that I'd like banned.

For tourism, yes. Makes no sense to allow a holiday anywhere - these stupid travel corridors.

I would see school as more important than international holidaying. Yet that hasn't been looked at. Perhaps we'll be grounded anyway as no fucker will let us in!

I know. Tourism industry is decimated by COVID. Not from lack of tourists - from blooming infections from them!

@forwardsbackwardsrebound

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?

Orrrrrr if they had just closed the bloody schools weeks ago.

Absolutely! Beggars belief how few cannot see that schools remaining open is adding fuel to the fire.

@RudolphToldRedNoseNotSymptom I'd like all international flights banned in and out till end of January.

If only we were an island, with no land borders...

My friend's partner is a sonographer. So she went to work in March carrying COVID from my friend no doubt - though he wouldn't admit that to me. I was fuming with him at the time.

I don't think we are the only country seeing this variant though
But international travel should be stopped other than emergencies etc
Even most buisness travel can be postponed for a couple weeks and quarantine needs to be strict and enforced

It is already in the Netherlands according to the WHO on the Andrew Marr show this morning.

Yes, that's why they closed travel from the UK as they found a case of it from the new UK strain.

I wonder if Trump will start calling it the England Virus, original version obviously remaining the China virus.

I read the new strain has already been found in the Netherlands anyway.

I read the strain found in the U.K. came from France anyway.
I'm in Germany, and we are well aware there's a new strain in mainland Europe, not just in the U.K.
I think in the new year travel may be banned for a few weeks.
They should have done all of this is February and March when reports from Italy were coming in.
Boris Johnson is a mess.

@Nellodee

What is the more difficult to detect part about?

I think it might be because of this:

One of the mutations in the new variant (deletion of amino acids 69 & 70 in spike) by coincidence causes 1 of the 3 channels of a widely used PCR test to drop out, giving us a way to track it in real time. (thread)

First, an important note: this assay has probes in two other parts of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, and they are not affected by the new lineage. Since not all three channels have to "light up" to declare a positive, this doesn't significantly affect test sensitivity.

twitter.com/jcbarret/status/1340355128818360325?s=21

@ancientgran

I wonder if Trump will start calling it the England Virus, original version obviously remaining the China virus.

Lol. I'd pay good money to see Boris' face when Trump puts a ban on the English into the US. The England Virus. Beats the Chiiiina Virus I suppose! You've really made me chuckle.

Of course as a Londoner, I'm calling it the 'Kent strain'.

Bloody mutant viruses. The zombie apocalypse really wasn't too far into science fiction as it turns out.

I don't think the UK are handling this situation well and some people around me are continuing normally as if covid doesn't exist with rules don't apply to me attitude. The Netherlands are right to block travel from the UK and I wouldn't be surprised if other countries did that as well.

I think Ireland is very high risk from this new strain as many people from Ireland actually live and work in the UK. I'm sure other EU countries are also, but Ireland seems particularly at risk as there is such a high amount of travel between the two countries. Netherlands seems to be the only country so far putting a ban on flights in from the UK. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised at all if others follow suit as more information is disseminated from WHO.

The Kent Strain does have a certain ring to it. Classy, maybe to classy for Donald?

DS' girlfriend is an international student and she flew home for Christmas last week, changing planes in Amsterdam. I was amazed that her home country was going to allow her in (she and ds are in a T3 northern city). She did do a test prior to flying which was negative but even so.

I'm presuming theres no issue with incoming flights

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

I don't think it is more likely to asymptomatic since there has been a 60% rise in hospitalisations since this new strain has been present in the South-East. You have to be pretty unwell to need hospitalisation unfortunately.

By the way, apparently South Africa also have this new strain causing many cases there. I doubt the mutation happened coincidentally on the other side of the world at the same time. Obviously international travel is spreading the new variants around the world and needs to be severely limited. My DC knows people going on holiday to Dubai this Christmas, probably via a London airport. Obviously that family had a tough year and deserved a treat.

And yes, I think the UK should show some responsibility and stop non-essential flights out of the country before we infect the whole world.

@racetothemoon

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

I don't think it is more likely to asymptomatic since there has been a 60% rise in hospitalisations since this new strain has been present in the South-East. You have to be pretty unwell to need hospitalisation unfortunately.

By the way, apparently South Africa also have this new strain causing many cases there. I doubt the mutation happened coincidentally on the other side of the world at the same time. Obviously international travel is spreading the new variants around the world and needs to be severely limited. My DC knows people going on holiday to Dubai this Christmas, probably via a London airport. Obviously that family had a tough year and deserved a treat.

Hospitalisations will also include nosocomial infections and infections in people screened on admission for other conditions. So, often but not always people unwell with COVID. But reports from colleagues say that they're not really observing much of a difference clinically with the new strain so far.

reports from colleagues say that they're not really observing much of a difference clinically with the new strain so far Agreed, I didn't mean to say that the new strain was more likely to cause hospitalisation, but that there was a correlation with increased numbers of the new strain with increased numbers of hospitalisations in those areas - so it does seem to be an equal level of morbidity (illness) but at a higher incidence (more of it) simply because there are more cases. That probably suggests that the new strain is not more likely to be asymptomatic/mild, which is what we all want to hear and suggested by a pp.