Fear of UK Variant Corona Sparks 'Lockdown'...Europe Followed by Latin America (Comprehensive)

Concerns Over Variant COVID Influx... Flights and Transport to UK Blocked
UK Maintains Lockdown During Christmas Holidays... "Control Is Difficult"

The Eurostar train standing canceled at Paris Gare du Nord in France. On the 20th, Eurostar announced the cancellation of the route from Belgium to London, UK. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In response to news that a variant of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) with stronger transmissibility than the existing strain is spreading in the United Kingdom, countries around the world including Europe and Latin America have begun to block entry from the UK to prevent the variant's influx. There is also a possibility that all 27 member countries of the European Union (EU) will impose lockdown measures against the UK. The UK government, facing a surge in daily confirmed cases reaching a record high due to the variant, announced that it will continue to maintain lockdown measures that were temporarily planned to be eased during the Christmas holidays.

According to foreign media including the AP on the 20th (local time), European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Romania have announced controls on transportation routes including flights with the UK, and in severe cases, even banned logistics. Some Latin American countries such as Colombia and El Salvador have also quickly restricted entry from the UK.

France, which imposed the strongest border lockdown measures, will control all transportation routes including roads, air, sea, and rail for 48 hours starting from this day, banning not only human movement but also cargo transport. The German government has banned all flights with the UK except for cargo planes. The Dutch government announced it will close all flights coming from the UK until January 1 of next year, and Italy has banned entry for those who have stayed or transited through the UK within the past 14 days. The Czech government also announced that people entering after staying in the UK for more than 24 hours within the past two weeks will be subject to quarantine measures. Eurostar trains operating between London, UK, Brussels, Belgium, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, will also be canceled starting from the 21st.

There is also a possibility that all 27 EU member countries will impose lockdown measures against the UK. According to AFP, the EU Commission convened an emergency meeting of member countries on the 21st regarding the UK's variant COVID-19 issue, where opinions on joint lockdown measures against the UK will be coordinated.

The UK government also withdrew its previous announcement to ease lockdown measures for five days around Christmas and decided to continue strong lockdown measures. Matt Hancock, UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said in an interview with Sky News on the same day, "The level 4 lockdown for London and the southeast of England will continue for some time," adding, "Considering that the new variant spreads about 70% faster than the existing COVID-19, it will be very difficult to control until mass vaccination is carried out."

Due to the impact of the highly transmissible variant virus, the spread of COVID-19 in the UK is raging fiercely. The UK health authorities announced that daily confirmed cases increased by 35,928, setting a new record high. The daily death toll was 326. According to COVID-19 statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, the UK's cumulative confirmed cases are 2,046,161, and cumulative deaths are 67,503.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.