Canada, EU countries block travel from U.K. over new coronavirus strain in U.K.

#Canada; #AirCanada; #FlightsToAndFromUKCancelled; #NewStrainOfCoronavirusInUK

​Canada/Canadian-Media: Canada and several European nations halted flights from the U.K. on Sunday in an effort to prevent a new, potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus found in the U.K., media reports said.

United Kingdom. Image credit: Unsplash

Air Canada said in a statement on Sunday night that it would temporarily suspend all flights between Canada and London's Heathrow Airport as of Monday.

"We regret the impact of the government directive to immediately suspend flights on our customers' travel plans in the middle of the holiday season and will continue to monitor this dynamic situation closely and adjust the schedule as appropriate," the statement said.

The decision to restrict U.K. flights followed Sunday afternoon meeting of the Incident Response Group (IRG), with a group of cabinet members and senior government officials including Garneau, Bill Blair, Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Patty Hajdu, Canada's Health Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, Foreign Affairs Minister, and Dominic LeBlanc, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister.

The new strain of coronavirus was identified in southeastern England in September and has been circulating in the area since a WHO official told the BBC on Sunday, CBC News reported.

We’re in close contact with UK □□ officials on the new #COVID19 virus variant. They’ll continue to share info & results of their analysis & ongoing studies. We’ll update Member States & public as we learn more about the characteristics of this virus variant & any implications.

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 19, 2020

Passengers who arrived in Canada Sunday from the U.K. are now subject to enhanced screening measures, including stronger scrutiny of their quarantine plans, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in a statement.

We are closing the border to all flights entering Canada from the United Kingdom. These measures take effect at midnight tonight, December 20, 2020.

— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) December 21, 2020

PHAC's statement also said that the passengers who arrived in previous days from the U.K. will receive direction from the Canadian government.

While we know this is difficult for Canadians and their families, it is necessary to protect us all from this virus. We will always do what’s necessary to keep Canadians safe.

— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) December 21, 2020