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LONDON: The British authorities banned journey from South America and Portugal to make sure a brand new variant of Covid-19 present in Brazil does not derail the UK’s vaccination program, though there are not any indicators the variant has reached the nation, Britain’s high transportation official mentioned.
UK transport secretary Grant Shapps mentioned the entry ban, which took impact on Friday morning, was prolonged to passengers arriving from Portugal as a result of many individuals who come to Europe from South America journey by way of Portugal.
“We don’t have cases at the moment, but this is a precautionary approach,” Shapps instructed the BBC. “We want to make sure that we do everything possible so that vaccine rollout can continue and make sure that it’s not disturbed by other variants of this virus.”
The announcement comes just some weeks after many international locations banned journey from the UK following the invention in England of one other, extra contagious variant of the virus that has been blamed for a pointy rise in Covid-19 circumstances and deaths. Scientists have mentioned there isn’t a indication the UK variant reacts any otherwise to coronavirus vaccines.
Portuguese international minister Augusto Santos Silva referred to as the UK’s determination “without logic” and mentioned he would search clarification from his British counterpart.
“Suspending flights from Portugal with the argument of the connections between Portugal and Brazil is, with all due respect, completely absurd,” he mentioned in an interview revealed on-line by the newspaper Diario de Noticias.
The UK is ramping up its mass vaccination program as the federal government seeks to guard the nation’s oldest and most susceptible residents earlier than easing a 3rd nationwide lockdown. According to authorities figures on Friday, just a little greater than 3.2 million individuals, or round 5% of the British inhabitants, have acquired a primary dose of a two-shot vaccine.
Britain plans to provide the primary dose to greater than 15 million individuals, together with these over 70, frontline healthcare staff and others who’re notably susceptible to the virus, by the center of February.
“We’re so close now that we want to make sure we do absolutely everything possible to give us the best chance of beating this virus, which is why it’s important that we do act quickly on these things,” Shapps mentioned.
While the primary stage of the vaccination program goals to guard round 85% of these deemed almost certainly to die from Covid-19, the nation is anticipated to proceed recording excessive mortality charges over the approaching weeks due to the lag time between infections and deaths.
The authorities reported 55,761 extra confirmed circumstances on Friday and the deaths of one other 1,280 individuals inside 28 days of testing optimistic for the virus. The every day replace introduced the UK’s loss of life toll within the pandemic to 87,295, the best quantity in Europe and the fifth-highest on this planet.
Many of the newly recognized are prone to have develop into contaminated in the course of the vacation interval, earlier than the present nationwide lockdown in England got here into power on January 5. The hope is that the lockdown will end in an infection charges falling over the following week or two, notably in areas that had been locked down earlier than the vacation. They embrace London and the southeast of England, the place the brand new variant of the virus was first recognized.
UK transport secretary Grant Shapps mentioned the entry ban, which took impact on Friday morning, was prolonged to passengers arriving from Portugal as a result of many individuals who come to Europe from South America journey by way of Portugal.
“We don’t have cases at the moment, but this is a precautionary approach,” Shapps instructed the BBC. “We want to make sure that we do everything possible so that vaccine rollout can continue and make sure that it’s not disturbed by other variants of this virus.”
The announcement comes just some weeks after many international locations banned journey from the UK following the invention in England of one other, extra contagious variant of the virus that has been blamed for a pointy rise in Covid-19 circumstances and deaths. Scientists have mentioned there isn’t a indication the UK variant reacts any otherwise to coronavirus vaccines.
Portuguese international minister Augusto Santos Silva referred to as the UK’s determination “without logic” and mentioned he would search clarification from his British counterpart.
“Suspending flights from Portugal with the argument of the connections between Portugal and Brazil is, with all due respect, completely absurd,” he mentioned in an interview revealed on-line by the newspaper Diario de Noticias.
The UK is ramping up its mass vaccination program as the federal government seeks to guard the nation’s oldest and most susceptible residents earlier than easing a 3rd nationwide lockdown. According to authorities figures on Friday, just a little greater than 3.2 million individuals, or round 5% of the British inhabitants, have acquired a primary dose of a two-shot vaccine.
Britain plans to provide the primary dose to greater than 15 million individuals, together with these over 70, frontline healthcare staff and others who’re notably susceptible to the virus, by the center of February.
“We’re so close now that we want to make sure we do absolutely everything possible to give us the best chance of beating this virus, which is why it’s important that we do act quickly on these things,” Shapps mentioned.
While the primary stage of the vaccination program goals to guard round 85% of these deemed almost certainly to die from Covid-19, the nation is anticipated to proceed recording excessive mortality charges over the approaching weeks due to the lag time between infections and deaths.
The authorities reported 55,761 extra confirmed circumstances on Friday and the deaths of one other 1,280 individuals inside 28 days of testing optimistic for the virus. The every day replace introduced the UK’s loss of life toll within the pandemic to 87,295, the best quantity in Europe and the fifth-highest on this planet.
Many of the newly recognized are prone to have develop into contaminated in the course of the vacation interval, earlier than the present nationwide lockdown in England got here into power on January 5. The hope is that the lockdown will end in an infection charges falling over the following week or two, notably in areas that had been locked down earlier than the vacation. They embrace London and the southeast of England, the place the brand new variant of the virus was first recognized.
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