Belgium is suspending flight and train arrivals from Britain from midnight Sunday after the UK detected a COVID-19 variant suspected to be more infectious, a government official said.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told a Belgian television channel that the ban will be in place for at least 24 hours.
The abrupt decision came a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a lockdown for London and parts of southeast England to at least December 30.
Meanwhile, Germany is considering banning flights from Britain and South Africa, a source close to the German health ministry said on Sunday.
A health ministry spokesman said the government in Berlin was monitoring developments in Britain very closely and working at “high pressure” to evaluate the new information and data regarding the new strain.
The Dutch ban, from 6:00 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday until January 1, came hours after Britain announced a stay at home order for part of the country to slow the new variant, which British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said was “out of control.”
In Germany, however, the new strain of the virus has not been detected so far, according to the chief virologist at Berlin’s Charite hospital, Christian Drosten, on Twitter.
