Seafood Vendors, Restaurants Hung Out to Dry by Virus 2nd Wave

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21 December 2020, 16:54

Top: a seafood vendor at Mahachai Market in Samut Sakhon on Dec. 20, 2020.

BANGKOK — With the New Year’s Eve just around the calendar corner, the sprawling Mahachai Market was supposed to be crowded with buyers looking to stock up seafood for the year-end celebrations. But vendor Boonjira Witsutiranon said the market is now a ghost town.

“There’s some shopkeepers here but no customers,” Boonjira, owner of Chananchai Seafood, said by phone. “In the 20 years I’ve opened shop, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Mahachai Market, located in the southwestern suburb of Bangkok, is at the heart of the new coronavirus outbreak, which already saw at least 800 cases linked to the bazaar. Vendors in and around the market saw a sharp drop in sales – a heavy blow in the already struggling economy – while a number of seafood restaurants also face suspicion from customers wary of the virus.

95646 copy — *Mahachai Market in Samut Sakhon seen on Dec. 21, 2020. Photo: Boonjira Wisutiranon / Courtesy*

“We’re bearing the full brunt. Normally the market is filled with shoppers but now everyone is afraid to come,” Boonjira said. “We usually sell to Bangkokians, but during the New Year time, people come from all over to buy souvenirs like dried squid and fish.”

Officials traced the infections to an unnamed 67-year-old woman who owned a seafood business in a shrimp market adjacent to Mahachai, though they have yet to identify how she contracted the virus in the first place.

Boonjira said she personally knew the infected vendor. “We’re all quite spooked and paranoid right now,” she said of her neighbors in the market.

A Thai desserts vendor at Sod Dee stall also said she’s struggling to sell her lod chong and chao guay snacks due to lack of foot traffic. She said customers have told her that they don’t want to eat anything from Mahachai Market.

“There’s no people at all. It’s so quiet I’m about to give them away for free,” she said. “No one’s walking here, just vendors staring at each other’s faces.”

A Billion Baht Bust

The authorities have discouraged travels in and out of Samut Sakhon in a bid to curb the coronavirus. A curfew was also imposed from 10pm to 5am, and a number of businesses were told to shut down, including shopping malls.

As of Monday, all trains running between Wong Wian Yai station in Bangkok and Mahachai were suspended indefinitely, putting a stop to a flow of seafood shoppers.

Another seafood seller interviewed by Khaosod said her only hope is to get rid of the stock of food she had ordered in anticipation of the New Year shopping rush.

20201220 123743 copy — *A vendor speaks to a reporter at Mahachai Market in Samut Sakhon on Dec. 20, 2020.*

“Vendors are just buying each others’ stock at this point,” she said. “Everyone just wants to clear out their fish before closing up shop until the situation gets better.”

Impacts from the outbreak in Samut Sakhon have rippled out to nearby seafood markets as well, such as the Talay Thai Market, located 2 kilometers away. The Samut Sakhon Fishery Association closed the seafood section of the market starting Monday until Jan. 3, but the general goods market remains open, although at reduced hours.

“Some shops decided to close, but some continued to open. But even if they’re open, there’s almost no customers,” Wannapa Wetprasitsuk, a manager at Talay Thai Market, said by phone Monday.

MOD 3084 1 — *Workers are seen at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon province on Dec. 21, 2020.*

She continued, “Many people keep calling in to ask if we have any infection. Even though the Mahachai market is a completely different venue, we need to show our responsibility to society and close down [the fishery section].”

The Samut Sakhon Chamber of Commerce estimated that the province’s seafood industry made about 400 million baht per day before the latest outbreak struck.

With so many businesses shut down as a result of the pandemic, the economic fallout can be as costly as 1 billion baht per day, chairwoman Amphai Harnkraiwilai told reporters.

‘Is Your Food Infected?’

The COVID-19 surge at the market also resulted in a seafood scare, emptying grilled cuttlefish street food stalls and seafood restaurants alike, both in Samut Sakhon and Bangkok. The capital reported two coronavirus cases associated with the Mahachai Market.

A number of restaurant owners said customers are paranoid not only about seafood – but what ethnicity their employees are.

“We’ve been getting endless calls since the last three days,” Surasit Supatarasuk of Kinkubkoy seafood shop in Samut Sakhon said by phone. “It’s all asking whether our employees have COVID. Then, they ask if we have migrant workers, which we do.”

“The next question is whether they went out and had any contact with others.”

S 2408457 copy — *The closed Kinkubkoy seafood restaurant on Dec. 21, 2020. Photo: Surasit Supatarasuk / Courtesy*

Due to the virus panic that grips the province, Surasit said he had to close up shop indefinitely since Sunday – a big loss, since New Year season was usually the peak time for the restaurant – even though his shrimp are grown in-house.

“People are so scared that they think that anything fresh from Samut Sakhon carries COVID,” Surasit said.

The World Health Organization has said that there is no evidence COVID-19 can be transmitted via food, and any viruses that may have been in the food can be killed by cooking temperatures.

S 2228471 1 — *Health workers carry supplies of food and water to flats where migrant workers from Myanmar are quarantined in Samut Sakhon province on Dec. 21, 2020.*

But science is often trumped by emotions, as seen in the case of Mae Klong Seafood in Bangkok’s western suburb. The restaurant’s owner said people kept asking her if the food comes from Mahachai and whether the dishes contained coronavirus.

“People think seafood all comes from the same place. They put us all in the same basket,” owner Umaporn Pattaanachot said. “I’ve been sourcing seafood for 13 years and never once bought from Mahachai.”

Umaporn said she already told potential customers that she sourced the ingredients from Samut Songkhram and Nakhon Si Thammarat, among several other provinces, but to no avail. Since the news broke, her customers have dropped by at least 50 percent, Umaporn said.

20201220 124330 copy — *Mahachai Market in Samut Sakhon on Dec. 20, 2020.*

“Normally on Sundays we have a queue of 100 people. Yesterday, you could just walk in,” she said.

The scare is felt as far as the Chai Grilled Squid stall near the Giant Swing – nearly 40 kilometers away from Mahachai. Stall vendor Watcharin Nakapurana said she sources her seafood from Talay Thai market, and continues to do so in spite of anxiety from some buyers.

“Some customers are worried that the food has COVID, but I tell them that there’s no COVID from where I bought the seafood,” Watcharin said.

3 More Virus Cases Linked to Country’s Largest Seafood Market

Samut Sakhon Virus Cases Top 800, and Expected To Rise

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Khaosod English

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21 December 2020, 15:00

Eoz02YeUwAA2mQq — A security officer stands watch at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon province on Dec. 21, 2020.

SAMUT SAKHON — Health officials said 127 additional coronavirus infections were discovered as of Monday noon in Samut Sakhon, the province at the epicenter of the ongoing outbreak.

The vast majority of the new cases are migrant workers, since the tests were mostly conducted in mobile units deployed in the areas where the workers live, deputy provincial governor Surasak Polyangsong told reporters.

The new figures brought the total number of infections seen in Samut Sakhon to 821 since the first case was reported on Thursday. The patient was identified as 67-year-old seafood vendor.

More cases are expected in the coming days. About 2,000 people were tested for coronavirus so far in the province since last week, Surasak said. Officials have said that they aimed to test at least 10,000 people within this week.

He also said the mobile lab units are dedicated to testing as many migrant workers as possible; Thais who need coronavirus tests are advised to seek one from a hospital instead to lessen the workload.

The current virus outbreak was traced to a wholesale seafood market in Samut Sakhon, where many migrant workers from Myanmar live and work. It also spelled an end to Thailand’s unique feat of controlling the coronavirus pandemic and keeping the local transmissions to near zero since May.

Convenience Store Manager Busted For Selling Overpriced Facemasks

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Khaosod English

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21 December 2020, 13:45

1000 (1) — Commerce officials detain a woman who allegedly sold overpriced face masks in Trang province on Dec. 21, 2020.

TRANG — Officials in the southern province of Trang said a woman was arrested Monday for selling face masks 10 baht apiece – 4 times the limit sanctioned by the law.

The suspect was identified as a manager of a local 7-Eleven store who was hawking her wares in front of the shop, Department of Internal Trade official Tipparat Somthong said.

The unnamed manager was charged with violating the 1999 Price of Goods and Services Act, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Tipparat said the laws ban selling medical face masks at a price higher than 2.5 baht per piece. Anyone who witnessed any violations should report to the Department of Internal Trade at the hotline 1569, she said.

The government cracked down on overpriced protective gears in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year, with some successes. Seven mask sellers were sent to prison in March for overcharging their customers.

Thai Airways Cancels New Year Magical Heart-Shaped Flight

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Khaosod English

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21 December 2020, 12:30

BANGKOK — Thai Airways’ heart-shaped, three-hour flight intended to bring in blessings for passengers – and money for the bankrupt national airline – was cancelled on Monday amidst the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak.

The flight was scheduled to take off on New Year’s Day and fly over holy sites across Thailand before landing at the same airport it departed from. But thanks to the record spikes of coronavirus cases, the hearty serving of good fortune to start the year is no longer available.

“We’ve literally just cancelled it now. The flight was almost sold out,” said a woman answering the phone at Thai Airways ticketing office on Monday.

131101692 1546131602253020 6874444400700964568 n e1608530272250 — A promotional image released by Thai Airways.

The airline’s latest attempt to recoup its massive losses had been to sell 6,999 baht seats to the Jan. 1 flight, which was advertised as a journey to accumulate good karma to passengers by circling around famous pilgrimage sites.

The original schedule was to take off from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 11:30 am heading north to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, and then cruising over Isaan. Passengers were to pray as the airplane flew above temples like Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon in Khon Kaen and Phra That Ya Khu in Kalasin, before landing in Bangkok at 2:30pm.

Celebrity astrologist Katha Chinbanchorn was scheduled to be on board to lead faithful passengers through auspicious prayers.

The airline previously launched its first “flight to nowhere” in November, with a flyover covering 99 sacred temples and shrines around the country.

Although the idea was mocked relentlessly on social media, the flight was fully booked within a matter of days – a success that Thai Airways clearly hoped to replicate with its now-canceled New Year’s Day program.

‘Thai Airways Cafe’ is All About First-Class Food, But Dubious Management

Gov’t Spokesman Says Case Spikes Don’t Count as ‘Second Wave’

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Khaosod English

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21 December 2020, 10:20

1000 (7) — Health workers record migrant workers ahead of collecting nasal swab samples from them to test for COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/ Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul)

BANGKOK — The spokesman for the government’s coronavirus taskforce on Sunday asserted that Thailand is not experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, despite record-shattering spikes in case numbers over the weekend.

Although experts and government officials have warned in the past that a second wave is an expected scenario for Thailand, spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin said the term cannot be applied to the outbreak in Samut Sakhon province, where over 500 people have been tested positive since Saturday, since they are considered a new cluster of infections.

“The first wave ended around May, without further cases, and this outbreak is not the continuation of the first wave. It’s a new outbreak,” Taweesin of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration said at a news conference.

“We don’t use the term ‘second wave’ or ‘a new phase’ because our academic team has not yet identified [the current situation] as such,” he went on. “I’d like to confirm that the two outbreaks have no relations. This is a new outbreak.”

The spokesman, who is a doctor by trade, also insisted that the government is not enforcing a lockdown on the residential quarters of migrant workers in Samut Sakhon – even though security officers have sealed off the area and forbid any travel in or out.

“We don’t call it a lockdown. We use a new term, called loculated area, which means restricting them to stay in that area,” Taweesin said, adding that local officials are supplying the migrant workers with food and water.

Thai officialdom is notorious for playing down the scales of crises and masking them with euphemism, which in turn is routinely adopted uncritically by the national media. The Bangkok governor, for instance, famously insisted that rain floods in the capital were “water that awaited drainage” while a bloody crackdown on protesters in 2010 was termed as “a measure to ask for the [protest] area to reclaimed.”

Officials said on Sunday that they found 141 more cases linked to the country’s largest seafood market on top of Saturday’s tally of 548 cases. It was Thailand’s biggest daily spike, sending shockwaves through a country that has seen only a small number of infections over the past several months due to strict border and quarantine controls.

The new outbreak has been traced to a 67-year-old shrimp vendor at the seafood market.

Health officials say most of those who have been infected are migrant workers from Myanmar. The workers live close to the market in crowded accommodations, raising fears that the virus could spread exponentially.

Samut Sakhon is 34 kilometers (21 miles) southwest of Bangkok, the capital.

Samut Sakhon’s governor has imposed a night curfew and other travel restrictions until Jan. 3. Many public places in the province, including shopping malls, schools, cinemas, spas and sports stadiums, have been ordered closed.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.

Thousands in Samut Sakhon Line up for Tests Amid Virus Surge

By

Associated Press

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21 December 2020, 09:30

1000 (5) — People stand in lines to get COVID-19 tests in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)

SAMUT SAKHON (AP) — Thousands of people lined up for coronavirus tests in a province near Bangkok on Sunday, as Thai authorities scrambled to contain an outbreak of the virus that has infected nearly 700 people.

Triple lines of mainly migrant workers stretched for around 100 meters in one location alone, at Mahachai in Samut Sakhon province, as health officials in mobile units methodically took nasal swabs. There were three locations in total in the area.

Nearby, razor wire and police guards blocked access to the Klang Koong, or Central Shrimp, seafood market — one of Thailand’s largest — and its associated housing, the epicenter of the new cluster.

1000 6 3 — *People stand in lines to get COVID-19 tests in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)*

Thailand’s Disease Control Department said Sunday that they found 141 more cases linked to the market outbreak. On Saturday, the department reported 548 cases, Thailand’s biggest daily spike, sending shockwaves through a country that has seen only a small number of infections over the past several months due to strict border and quarantine controls.

The new outbreak has been traced to a 67-year-old shrimp vendor at the seafood market.

Health officials say most of those who have been infected are migrant workers from Myanmar. The workers live close to the market in crowded accommodations, raising fears that the virus could spread exponentially.

1000 3 3 — A health worker in protective clothing collects nasal swab sample from a man to test for COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/ Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul)

Samut Sakhon is 34 kilometers (21 miles) southwest of Bangkok, the capital.

Samut Sakhon’s governor has imposed a night curfew and other travel restrictions until Jan. 3. Many public places in the province, including shopping malls, schools, cinemas, spas and sports stadiums, have been ordered closed.

1000 7 12 — *A shrimp market is closed and barbed-wired in Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/ Jerry Harmer)*

At the Mahachai seafood market, there was a listless atmosphere as idle workers sat around, unable to leave the area. Food supplies were brought to the entrance but had to be offloaded. Masked residents of the housing around the market piled provisions onto trolleys and took them away.

For some, the concern was economic.

“I am worried because I can’t do anything at all and my employees can’t go out either, so we can’t do anything. The loss is huge,” said one seafood merchant, 55-year-old Thanawan Watchanapraphan.

1000 4 16 — *A group of migrant workers arrive in a back of a truck to get screened for COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/ Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul)*

Wanida Imphanchai, another merchant, paced near the market’s blocked entrance, telling the police on duty that she had a negative coronavirus test just days ago and should be allowed to leave. She showed them the document on her phone, but they politely declined her request.

“How can I live like this? The virus comes but I can’t see it. If something happens to me, it will be messy,” Wanida said before walking away.

With fewer than 5,000 cases and 60 deaths, Thailand has been able to largely control the virus. Prior to the current outbreak, there had been very few cases of local transmission in recent months, as life returned largely back to normal.

1000 6 4 — *Health workers in protective clothing conduct screening for COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)*

Cambodia Tightens Anti-Virus Measures at Borders With Thailand

By

Xinhua News Agency

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21 December 2020, 09:02

received_647851985892985 — Thai and Cambodian officials hold a discussion at the Thai-Cambodian border in Sa Kaeo province on Dec. 17, 2020.

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) — The Cambodian government on Sunday asked local authorities to strengthen safety measures along the border after neighboring Thailand reported more than 500 cases of COVID-19 in its Samut Sakhon province.

Samut Sakhon is located about 300 km away from Cambodia’s border.

“The authorities along Cambodia’s provincial border with Thailand must be on high alert and must check health for all incoming travelers thoroughly, screening their body’s temperatures and requiring them to fill in health declaration forms,” Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in a statement.

“All travelers entering Cambodia must undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine, and their samples must be taken and sent to either the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia, the National Institute of Public Health, or the Siem Reap Provincial Hospital for testing on the same day they enter Cambodia,” he added.

Bunheng said if anyone has suspicious symptoms of the COVID-19, he or she can call the 115 free hotlines.

Cambodia has reported no new cases of COVID-19 infections in the last five days. According to the Ministry of Health, the kingdom has recorded a total of 362 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date, with no deaths and 345 recoveries.

As End Approaches, Trump Gets Doses of Flattery, Finality

By

Associated Press

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21 December 2020, 09:00

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is ending how it began, with over-the-top declarations of praise for the chief executive.

But now the flattery is mixed with a sense of finality as key people in the president’s orbit are beginning to turn the page and acknowledge his defeat. Trump himself keeps to the Oval Office, still fighting the Election Day results and offering scant acknowledgement of the death and suffering Americans are bearing in the darkest hours of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a week when the Electoral College made official President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Trump remained out of sight, staying late in the Oval Office and working the phones and television remote in his private dining area just steps from the Resolute Desk.

While he made not one public appearance, some of those who have been his most influential allies and loyal defenders gave up the fight, letting the president down as gently as possible.

Attorney General William Barr offered his resignation last Monday after weeks of tension with Trump brought about an early exit from his post. Long seen as one of Trump’s most supportive Cabinet members, Barr in recent weeks and months had drawn Trump’s wrath for not supporting the president’s baseless claims of election fraud or for not publicly pursuing an investigation into Biden’s son Hunter.

1000 5 2 — In this Sept. 23, 2020, file photo Attorney General William Barr listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican state attorneys general about social media companies, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

But when Barr stepped aside, he did so with flowery language reminiscent of the compliments that were tossed as verbal bouquets at Trump during early Cabinet meetings.

“Your record is all the more historic because you accomplished it in the face of relentless, implacable resistance,” Barr wrote in his resignation letter. Trump promptly tweeted it out, adding his own words of praise for the attorney general.

In the six weeks since his defeat by Biden, Trump has been increasingly disengaged from his job. The virus has killed more than 300,000 Americans and is now claiming more than 3,000 lives a day, but the president has offered barely a word about the deaths or the development of the vaccine that could bring an end to the pandemic.

At the same time, he has relentlessly tweeted conspiracy theories and false claims about the election, incorrectly insisting it was stolen from him while taking steps to undermine the Biden administration before it begins. Most Republicans went along, refusing to push Trump to stop or work with the president-elect.

Many in the GOP took their cues from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who refused to stand up to Trump, instead making the calculation that an outraged Republican base — and an angry president — could help produce victories in a pair of January runoff races in Georgia that will dictate control of the Senate. But this past week, even McConnell, R-Ky., bent to reality, declaring that the Electoral College “had spoken” and that Biden was the victor.

McConnell’s acknowledgement that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris had won came only after a long public recap of Trump’s accomplishments on the Senate floor. McConnell spoke about Trump for nine minutes, declaring that “many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result.” He discussed Biden for one minute.

Some more of Trump’s fiercest allies also appeared to give credence, albeit briefly, to the electoral result. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a cable television appearance that Trump was in strong position for a possible 2024 campaign — a roundabout acknowledgement that he won’t be president come next year.

received 4840033412734977 8 — *This Dec. 16, 2020, file photo shows a view of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)*

Others close to Trump also marked the looming end. His daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump began tweeted photos of moments throughout the term. His son Eric Trump and his family posed for photos just outside the Oval Office. West Wing staffers put up photos on Instagram of White House Christmas parties, and most of those pictured weren’t wearing masks.

Vice President Mike Pence continued his role as Trump’s biggest hype man, even as the cheerleading came with a whiff of nostalgia. Pence in a ceremony Friday marked the first anniversary of the U.S. Space Force, which he framed as a major part of Trump’s legacy.

But with Trump largely in hiding, it fell to Pence to make a public show of meeting with those distributing the vaccine. And on Friday, he was the one who rolled up his sleeves and took a public shot in the arm as part of a campaign to convince Americans the vaccine is safe.

Trump has been happy to bask in praise throughout his presidency. His Cabinet meetings at times resembled “Dear Leader” sessions in authoritarian nations where officials gush compliments for the man in charge.

The tone was set at the president’s first Cabinet meeting, in June 2017, when the only subject for debate appeared to whether Trump was a great president or the greatest. With the media invited to watch, Trump extolled the achievements of his young administration, asserting that he had accomplished more than any president in his first six months — with “few exceptions,” like President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Pence that day declared his job was “the greatest privilege of my life.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he was “thrilled,” Energy Secretary Rick Perry gave his “hats off” to Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross offered thanks “for the opportunity” to work for the president.

Perhaps the strongest words came from chief of staff Reince Priebus: “On behalf of the entire senior staff around you, Mr. President, we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that you’ve given us to serve your agenda.”

On Wednesday, Trump convened his 25th and perhaps final Cabinet meeting. Much had changed.

Several top officials were not there, including Barr, whose resignation was pending; acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who had tested positive for COVID-19; and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was quarantining because he had been exposed to someone with the virus.

Whether there was effusive praise of Trump remains unknown.

The president did not let the media in.

CP Foods Sees Pork Price To Remain High in 2021

By

Khaosod English

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21 December 2020, 06:00

Charoen Pokphand Food PCL (CP Foods) anticipates that a pork shortage in China, and Southeast Asian countries caused by ASF crisis will keep pork price high in the next year.

The company also sees a need to invest on R&D to build a stronger breed of swine that can resist the diseases and better practices, including stringent farm biosecurity, to ensure that its operations across the world will always be disease-free.

Mr. Prasit Boondoungprasert, Chief Executive Officer at CP Foods, said pork shortage in China, and many Southeast Asian countries leads to a sharp increase in the number of imported pork from Thailand, subsequently, increasing pork price.

He added that this trend is likely to continue for a couple of years until the production in countries impacted by ASF return to normal.

To minimize the risk, the company will develop a better farm biosecurity and disease-resistant pigs to tackle global outbreak of deadly swine diseases like PRRS and ASF.

It also placed importance on boosting cost efficiency, improving raw material sourcing and eco-friendly farming practice, particularly on water resource management, to minimize its environmental footprint.

Several EU Nations Halt UK Flights, Fearing Virus Variant

By

Associated Press

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20 December 2020, 22:20

1000 (6) — Police officers at St Pancras, with more being deployed to enforce travel rules at London's stations, after Britian's Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced Tier 4 restrictions for London and the south east of the country, in London, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — Several European Union nations on Sunday banned flights from the U.K. and Germany was considering limiting such flights to make sure that a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England does not establish a strong foothold on the continent.

The Netherlands banned flights from the U.K. for at least the rest of the year while Belgium issued a flight ban for 24 hours starting at midnight and also halted train links to Britain, including the Eurostar. Austria and Italy said they would halt flights from the U.K. but did not give details on any timing of the ban.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Twitter that the government was preparing the measure “to protect Italians” from the new coronavirus variant. About two dozen flights were scheduled to arrive in Italy on Sunday, most in the northern region of Lombardy but also in Veneto and Lazio, which include Venice and Rome respectively.

German officials, meanwhile, were considering “serious options” regarding incoming flights from the U.K., but have not yet taken action.

The Czech Republic, meanwhile, imposed stricter quarantine measures from people arriving from the U.K.

The EU governments say they are acting in response to tougher measures imposed Saturday in London and its surrounding areas by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He immediately put those regions into a new Tier 4 level of restrictions, saying that a fast-moving new variant of the virus that is 70% more transmissible than existing strains appears to be driving the rapid spread of new infections in London and southern England.

“There’s no evidence to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness,” Johnson said, or that vaccines will be less effective against it.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Sunday said he was issuing the flight ban for 24 hours starting at midnight “out of precaution.”

“There are a great many questions about this new mutation and if it is not already on the mainland,” he said. He hoped to have more clarity by Tuesday.

The World Health Organization tweeted late Saturday that “We’re in close contact with U.K. officials on the new #COVID19 virus variant.” It promised to update governments and the public as more is learned about this variant.

The new strain of coronavirus was identified in southeastern England in September and has been circulating in the area since, a WHO official told the BBC on Sunday.

“What we understand is that it does have increased transmissibility, in terms of its ability to spread,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19.

Studies are under way to better understand how fast it spreads and and whether “it’s related to the variant itself, or a combination of factors with behavior,” she said.

She said the strain had also been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia, where there was one case that did not spread further.

“The longer this virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to change,” she said. “So we really need to do everything we can right now to prevent spread, and minimizing that spread will reduce the chances of it changing.”

Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said that while the variant has been circulating since September, it wasn’t until this week that officials felt they had enough evidence to declare that it has higher transmissibility than other circulating viruses. The strain has spread to other parts of the U.K. but in smaller amounts than in London and surrounding areas, she told the BBC.

Germany has not yet spelled out a ban but is considering limiting or halting flights from the U.K. as well, the dpa news agency reported Sunday. A high-ranking German official told dpa that restrictions on flights from Britain are a “serious option.”

Europe has been walloped this fall by soaring new infections and deaths due to a resurgence of the virus, and many nations have reimposed a series of restrictions to reign in their outbreaks.

Britain has seen over 67,000 deaths in the pandemic, the second-highest confirmed toll in Europe after Italy.

Johnson on Saturday closed all non-essential shops, hairdressers, gyms and pools and told Britons to reorganize their holiday plans. No mixing of households is now allowed indoors in Tier 4 areas, including London, and only essential travel is permitted into and out of such areas. In the rest of England, people will be allowed to meet in Christmas bubbles for just one day instead of the five that were planned.

Also Saturday, video emerged showing crowds of people rushing to London train stations, apparently making a dash for places in the U.K. with less stringent coronavirus restrictions before the new rules came into effect. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said “those scenes were totally irresponsible.”

“We in government of course have a responsibility, but so does every single person,” he said. “The plea that I have is that people will play their part. Because it is only by acting — all of us — that we can get this under control.”

___

Raf Casert in Brussels, Sylvia Hui in London and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed reporting.

A Billion Baht Bust

‘Is Your Food Infected?’

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