(Photo = Yonhap News)-More than 40 countries have been restricted from entering the UK due to concerns about the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) strain spreading in the UK.
According to BBC Broadcasting and Reuters News on the 21st (local time), more countries are currently suspending flights departing from the UK, mainly in Europe and Asia.
France banned entry from the UK for 48 hours starting at 0 a.m. that day.
In addition to ports such as Dover Port, entry into France through the Eurotunnel was also blocked.
However, after discussing countermeasures at the EU level, it was decided to come up with a plan to resume entry from the UK soon.
Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Spain and Canada also restricted entry from the UK.
Eurostar, a high-speed train running between London and Belgium, also stopped.
In Asia, India and Hong Kong have introduced bans from the UK.
As a result of this, the London stock market’s FTSE 100 index closed down 1.73% compared to the previous trading day, and the pound-dollar exchange rate also fell 1.16% as of 6pm (GMT).
“The news for the past 24 hours really gives us anxiety,” said Kier Starmer, the representative of the UK’s No. 1 opposition party, Labor Party.
He diagnosed it as a “real emergency,” referring to serious confusion at airports and ports.
Prime Minister Johnson, who discussed countermeasures by holding the Cobra Conference, an emergency security meeting with major ministers, soon opened a press conference and explained the situation.
Prime Minister Johnson said he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron to try to resolve the confusion at the border as soon as possible.
“We had a very good conversation, and we understand each other well,” said Prime Minister Johnson. “We are working with friends on both sides of the English Channel to break through the barriers of trade.”
Johnson urged him not to stock up on Christmas, as there is not a high possibility of shortage of food products in the UK due to border confusion.
“Most groceries and medicines will not be affected,” he said. “As the supermarkets have already said, the supply chain is solid. Please shop as usual.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Johnson decided on an emergency blockade last weekend, saying that corona19 infection is rapidly spreading in the capital London and southeastern England due to the virus variant.
Although there is no evidence that the variant virus affects the corona19 fatality rate or vaccine, it is analyzed that the infectivity is up to 70% higher.
Health Minister Matt Hancock was concerned that this caused the Corona 19 situation to “be out of control.
On this day, the number of new corona 19 confirmed daily in the UK was 33,364, which was still far above 30,000 following the previous day (35,928).
The number of new confirmed cases the previous day was almost twice the average of the previous 7 days.
Prime Minister Johnson said that the number of people who received one dose of the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine in Britain on the same day exceeded 500,000.
The UK was the first in the world to start vaccinating Pfizer on the 8th.
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