Britain shuts all borders over new virus mutant
The United Kingdom moves to close all travel corridors into the country from Monday, following the identification of new strains of the COVID-19 virus.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the border closure is to “protect against the risk of yet unidentified new strains.” The closure would be in place until at least February 15.
Inbound passengers from outside the UK will be required to show a negative COVID test before being allowed. Security enforcement will also be reinforced at the border.
This closure comes as Brazil closed its borders to travellers from South America and Portugal, on Friday over concerns about the new strain.
In the summer, travel into the UK was allowed from countries with low numbers of COVID cases. These travellers were not required to quarantine upon arrival.
The total number of COVID related deaths recorded in the UK is 87,295 as at Friday.
Around the world, over two million deaths have been recorded since the onset of the pandemic, according to numbers from Johns Hopkins University.
At least two coronavirus variants have currently been identified in Brazil, and one has been identified in Japan.
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