Mink Covid – UK bans ALL lorry drivers, flights and ships from Denmark after mutant coronavirus outbreak at fur farms
ALL lorries, flights and ships from Denmark have been banned from entering the UK after a mutant coronavirus outbreak which will see millions of mink culled.
The Government had already barred all travellers from the Nordic country in the first travel ban implemented by Britain during the pandemic as a result of the development, dubbed a 'virologist's worst nightmare'.
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But now stricter conditions have been revealed, as freight drivers who have recently travelled through Denmark and don't live in the UK are turned back from the border.
Passenger planes and ships travelling from Denmark, as well as any accompanying freight, will not be allowed to dock at English ports
And hauliers who have been in or through Denmark in the last fortnight will also be denied entry on arrival.
The new rules came into force at 4am today.
It comes after health officials say the new strain shows decreased sensitivity against antibodies, potentially lowering the effectiveness of future vaccines.
Around five new strains of the virus have been found in Denmark - and at least 12 people were infected with the virus as a direct result so far.
But the situation could be much worse than already feared.
Already, another five countries have reported coronavirus outbreaks linked to mink - the US, Spain, Italy, Sweden and The Netherlands.
And Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said about half of the 783 human cases reported in north Denmark related to a strain of the virus that originated in the mink farms.
And the country's prime minister Mette Frederiksen said there were now fears that the new, mutated virus posed a "risk to the effectiveness" of a future vaccine.
A genetically stable virus - as has been the case so far - is a steady target for scientists working to develop a jab. But the news from Denmark could change the goalposts for experts.
Brits in Denmark are allowed to return from the country, and the first flight affected - British Airways flight 811 from Copenhagen - touched down at Heathrow shortly before 8am on Saturday.
But all travellers who have been to the country in the past fortnight - as well as all members of their household - must now isolate for 14 days.
Meanwhile, NHS test and trace will prioritise contacting all those who have recently returned.
The Department for Transport said: "The move follows the release of further information from health authorities in Denmark reporting widespread outbreaks of coronavirus (Covid-19) in mink farms, with a variant strain of the virus spreading to some local communities."
The travel ban and extra requirements will be reviewed after a week, the department added.
England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty is understood to be particularly worried about the situation.
And this morning Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reiterated concerns that the new strain could affect a vaccine.
In an interview on Sky, he said: "The concern is that when you see a mutated version of coronavirus, if it spread, it would undermine the ability to make an effective vaccine in the future."
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He said the travel ban - Britain's first during the pandemic - is "precautionary", but added: "It's the right step while we engage with health experts around the world and Danish authorities."
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Denmark is the world's largest mink fur exporter and produces an estimated 17 million furs per year.
The Danish government has ordered the cull of all 15 million minks bred in the country's 1,139 mink farms.
