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The U.S. began to prepare countermeasures by monitoring the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) strain found in the UK.
Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Brett Girore announced on the 21st (local time) that the White House Corona 19 Response Task Force (TF) will discuss countermeasures against a variant virus originating in the UK.
In an interview with CNN, Assistant Secretary Girore said, “We need to put everything on the table and have a scientific discussion to come up with the best recommendations.”
Monsef Slawi, chief executive of the corona vaccine development program, said at a briefing for the “Operation Warp Speed” team that scientists are evaluating the risk of the UK-borne strain.
“Scientists are working to make sure that the variant spreads more easily,” said Slawi, who said. “Clinical trials in animals are needed (to evaluate the propagation power).”
However, the US health authorities were cautious about the ban on travel to the UK.
“We need to hear the opinions of top experts,” said Deputy Secretary Girore, saying that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not yet had a recommendation on the UK travel ban.
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Chief Slawy said the corona vaccine would work for the strain, as there is no evidence that the strain corona causes serious disease or is more lethal.
Anthony Pouch, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said, “The United States should undoubtedly look for the virus strain,” but “we don’t want us to be overly sensitive.”
“At the moment, the US will not recommend such a measure,” Pouch warned about whether or not to restrict entry for passengers from the UK.
However, New York State, the gateway to the United States from Europe, has launched its own travel restrictions.
New York State said it has agreed with British Airways to allow only passengers who test negative for COVID-19 to board flights to New York, and that Delta and Virgin Airlines have requested voluntary screening of passengers departing from the UK.
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned that “British variant virus is flying to New York’s JFK airport,” and New York Mayor Bill Doublerazio said “It’s time to ban travelers from Europe.”
In the midst of this, in the United States, warnings about the Great Christmas Movement are increasing.
According to the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), 3.2 million travelers passed through the checkpoints of domestic airports in the U.S. for three days from the 18th, a week before Christmas.
This is the most frequent weekend flight traveler since the coronavirus outbreak, surpassing 3.05 million on weekends just before Thanksgiving.
“The corona crisis is going to get worse,” said Slawy’s chief executive. “There will be more infected people during the Christmas holiday, and the number of patients will continue to surge.”
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