New COVID-19 Variant Spreads in Europe

No Cheer: Christmas With Fear

Date: 25 December 2020 - 21:24

News ID: ۸۵۸۶۱

LONDON (Dispatches) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Thursday that the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus meant there would be difficult times ahead, citing the need to control its rapid spread.
"I know that it’s been very, very tough over the last few weeks and I must tell people, it will continue to be difficult, not least basically because of the speed with which the new variant is spreading,” Johnson told a news conference.
Asked if he could rule out a national lockdown after Christmas, Johnson said: "Obviously we face very considerable new pressures, particularly from the new variant and the speed with which that’s been spreading ….”
Analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that around half of all new coronavirus cases in England could be the new variant.
The discovery of the new variant of the coronavirus, known as VUI-202012/01, has prompted a pre-Christmas lockdown and forced dozens of countries to close their borders to British travelers this week.
The mutated strain of the virus, which is believed to be up to 70% more transmissible, has so far been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Germany, Australia, Occupied Palestine and Japan.
The United States became the latest country, among 40 nations, to announce new travel restrictions from the UK.
China will suspend direct flights to and from Britain indefinitely, Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
The travel restrictions from the UK have raised concerns over the lack of fresh food and supplies in the country.
The head of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), Ian Wright, warned that the border closures had the "potential to cause serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food supplies — and exports of UK food and drink.”
Johnson has already come under fire for implementing the restrictive rules without parliamentary approval. Protests have been erupted in the country against the measures over the past weeks.
London, home to almost nine million people, was added to the British government’s COVID-19 watchlist as an "area of concern” in September.

Italy Enters Christmas Lockdown

Police in Italy enforced new COVID-19 travel restrictions aimed at limiting far-flung families from gathering over Christmas as public health officials appealed Thursday for people to use common sense to prevent new infections over the holidays.
A modified nationwide lockdown that took effect on Christmas Eve requires restrictions and closures similar to the 10 weeks of hard lockdown the Italian government imposed from March to May, when Italy became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.
The country’s fall wave of outbreaks has killed more people than the spring wave, according to official counts, and the aim of the new slowdown Dec. 24-Jan. 6 is to limit a January resurgence. On Wednesday, Italy’s confirmed death toll in the pandemic passed 70,000, the highest in Europe. The number of confirmed cases was on track to pass 2 million on Thursday.

Americans Mark Christmas Under Spiraling Pandemic

Americans marked a grim Christmas Eve on Thursday as coronavirus infections exploded nationwide, political leaders warned them not to travel or gather in large groups and the highly contagious variant of the virus spread further in Europe.
More than one million people have received the first of two vaccine doses since Dec. 14, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the vaccinations have so far had little

effect on the latest surge in cases spiraling nationwide.
Achieving herd immunity against the virus could require vaccination of up to 90% of Americans, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the most prominent U.S. infectious disease expert, told the New York Times in an interview.
"We really don’t know what the real number is. I think the real range is somewhere between 70 to 90 percent. But, I’m not going to say 90 percent,” Fauci said.
The United States recorded more than 3,000 deaths for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally. The U.S. death toll since the pandemic broke out in March has surpassed 326,000.
The states of Tennessee and California have emerged as the epicenters of the latest surge
State and local political leaders nationwide have urged Americans not to travel for the holidays, saying that Thanksgiving celebrations had further spread the virus.
Many Americans, weary after more than nine months of lockdowns, have defied those warnings. More passengers flew on commercial flights on Wednesday than any other day of the pandemic, with 1,191,123 passengers passing through airport checkpoints, according to data from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.