New Delhi (NVI): The UK government has banned the entry of visitors from Denmark amid concerns over a new coronavirus strain that has transferred from minks to humans.
The government issued the ban citing a mutated strain of the virus that has spread to local communities in Denmark from the mink population, according to foreign media reports.
British Transport Minister Grant Shapps said, “Visitors arriving into the UK from Denmark will not be permitted entry into the UK.”
“This decision to act quickly follows on from health authorities in Denmark reporting widespread outbreaks of coronavirus in mink farms, with a variant strain of the virus spreading to some local communities,” he added.
The British Department of Transport (BDT) initially said that all travelers arriving from Denmark would be required to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival.
But it later announced that visitors arriving from Denmark would no longer be permitted entry to the UK, except for British nationals and residents, and hauliers. The department added that the ban would be reviewed after a week.
“Passenger planes and ships carrying freight (as well as passengers) from Denmark will also not be allowed to dock at English ports,” it said.
A mutated strain of coronavirus that has spread to humans has triggered culling of millions of mink across Denmark and a lockdown in some parts of the country. Over 200 people have been infected with strains related to mink and most of them are connected to farms in Denmark’s North Jutland region, according to reports.
The Danish authorities have described the situation as very serious and have ordered the culling of all minks in Denmark, thought to number around 17 million.
However, number of steps are being taken to stop the mutated form of COVID-19 virus from spreading.
-RJV
