The British government has announced that a case of the new strain has been detected in Gibraltar. Cases have also been detected in Belgium, Denmark, South Africa, Australia, Italy and the Netherlands.
Misc
21/12/2020
Spain suspends entry of flights from UK because of new coronavirus strain
EU fails to reach consensus at experts' meeting
2 min
BarcelonaThe Spanish government has suspended incoming flights from the United Kingdom to prevent the spread of the new strain of covid-19 that has been detected in that country. The decision was taken after the EU crisis mechanism meeting. The suspension comes into effect tomorrow, Tuesday, and Spaniards living in the UK and Britons living in Spain are exempt. It has also been decided to tighten border controls with Gibraltar and the government of Pedro Sanchez has coordinated with Portugal to adopt the measures.
Spain was one of the last EU countries to adopt the ban although Member States have not yet agreed on what to do about the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 that has been detected in the UK. The crisis mechanism meeting convened on Monday by the German presidency ended without agreement. So far all EU countries except Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have restricted flights with the UK to protect themselves.
The meeting of the EU's Integrated Crisis Response Mechanism has only served to allow states to share information on restrictions on the movement of passengers and people, taking into account data from the EU's European Centre for Disease Control.
After the experience of the first weeks of the pandemic, when there was a chaotic chain of border closures within the Schengen area, countries have advocated the importance of keeping internal borders open to movement and also the need for mechanisms to be put in place to repatriate their nationals living in the UK. European sources explain that in the coming days the mechanism will be meet again with all available information and the European Commission is expected to publish its recommendations soon.
Outside the EU, the list of countries that are not allowing British nationals to enter the country continues to grow: today India, Canada, Russia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Israel and Jordan have been added, and the US government has admitted that all options are open.
A case in Gibraltar
