The Hague (AP) – The Netherlands has banned flights from the UK for at least a year to ensure that a new strain of the corona virus, which is spreading across southern England, does not reach its shores.

The ban took effect on Sunday morning. The government says it is responding to a crackdown by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London and surrounding areas on Saturday. The Netherlands said it would “assess the possibility of importing the virus from the United Kingdom with other EU countries”.

In London and the south of England, new strains of the virus are found that spread 70% more than current strains, causing new infections to spread rapidly.

“There is no evidence that it is more deadly or causes more serious disease,” he said, adding that vaccines would not be effective.

The Dutch government is already strongly advising citizens not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

There was no immediate word on what the Dutch government intended to do with the smuggling vessels plying between the UK and the Netherlands.

The UK has informed the World Health Organization that the new variant identified this week is accelerating the spread of Covid-19, which could account for up to 60% of capital cases.

Viruses are constantly mutating, and scientists have found thousands of different mutations in samples of the virus that causes COVID-19. But many of these changes have no effect on how easily the virus spreads or how severe the symptoms are.

There have been 67,000 pandemic deaths in the UK. It is the second most deadly country in Europe after Italy. More than 10,500 virus-related deaths have been reported in the Netherlands.

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