Beijing, China:
China on Thursday suspended flights to and from Britain just after it reported a new, more infectious strain of the coronavirus.
China has largely curbed the spread of Covid-19 inside its borders, but authorities stay hugely vigilant about the threat of “imported” virus instances.
“Given the exceptional nature of the virus mutation and its potential impact … China has suspended flights between China and the UK after full assessment,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated at a routine briefing.
As fears rose more than the new virus strain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium halted UK flights earlier this week.
Turkey and Canada have also banned incoming flights from Britain indefinitely.
China has currently imposed strict entry needs to curb the spread of the coronavirus and final month banned foreign arrivals from a quantity of nations such as Britain, Belgium, India and the Philippines.
International carriers are largely restricted to one particular flight per week per foreign city. The new flight ban will avoid Chinese nationals primarily based in Britain from returning to China.
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