BRITS have today been banned from entering Holland as the UK revealed a new strain of Covid-19 had emerged.
Boris Johnson last night cancelled Christmas for millions of Brits – telling them to “stay local” amid fears the variant can spread up to 70 per cent faster.
The PM slapped draconian new Tier 4 measures on London, the South East and East of England, admitting “bitter regret” at axing family get-togethers.
And in what could be the first of many countries to make the move, just hours later the Dutch government announced that all flights from the UK had been banned from entering Holland.
In a statement, it said: “Pending further information, and an explanation of the epidemiological situation in the United Kingdom, the public health institute recommends that any introduction of this virus strain from the United Kingdom should be limited as much as possible, by limiting or controlling passenger movement.”
It continued: “In the coming days, it will, in close collaboration with other EU member states, look into the possibilities of further restricting imports of the virus from the United Kingdom”.
The ban is in effect from 5am Sunday until January 1.
It is understood that the new variant of coronavirus has spread to at least two other countries, The Telegraph reported.
The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.
Europe – the epicentre of the pandemic earlier this year – is once again seeing growing cases with officials fearing an explosion in infections after the Christmas holidays as families gather.
And Boris Johnson last night introduced the new measures in the UK amid fears hospitals will be overwhelmed if the new strain gets out of control.
Travel and mixing households are banned from today under the new highest level resctrictions – with families elsewhere only allowed to form Christmas bubbles for one day on December 25 itself.
