E.U. Urges Member Countries to Lift U.K. Travel Bans - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/world/eu-urges-member-countries-to-lift-blanket-travel-bans-for-britain.html
As Britain found itself even more isolated on Tuesday because of a newly discovered variant of the coronavirus spreading there, the executive arm of the European Union called for member states to lift blanket air- and train-travel bans and ensure essential travel, recommending testing or quarantines instead.The upheaval over the virus variant grew after Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said over the weekend that it had been shown to be more contagious than other variants. British officials said there was no reason to believe that the new variant caused more serious illness, and most experts doubt it will render the current vaccines ineffective.
But governments around the world were not waiting for a more complete picture of the new variant, instead racing to seal their borders to travelers from Britain. More than 50 governments put in place some sort of regulation, and officials in London warned that the lockdown measures in effect in the capital and southern England might need to be expanded. The United States has not put in place a travel ban on Britain. There are no confirmed cases of the variant circulating in the United States, but that does not mean it hasn’t already reached American shores.The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said on Tuesday that it was important to maintain movement for essential travel and transport between Britain and the European Union, and also suggested that to allow the transport of goods to flow freely, countries should use rapid tests for truckers and haulers rather than time-consuming P.C.R. tests. The recommendations are nonbinding.“Flight and train bans should be discontinued given the need to ensure essential travel and avoid supply chain disruptions,” the commission said in a statement.
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