London: The UK has imposed an immediate ban for all travellers from Denmark amid concerns of a mutated COVID-19 strain found in minks that has been transmitted to over 210 people in the Scandinavian country.
The new measure was announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Twitter on Saturday morning and it came into effect at 4 a.m., the BBC reported.
"This decision to act quickly follows on from health authorities in Denmark reporting widespread outbreaks of coronavirus in mink farms. Keeping the UK public safety remains our top priority," Shapps said in the tweet.
Read:|WHO in touch with Denmark over mutated strain of COVID-19 detected in minks
Under the new measure, UK nationals or residents will be able to return to the country from Denmark but will have to isolate along with all members of their household for 14 days.
Officials will also contact anyone in the UK who had been in Denmark in the last 14 days to make sure they self-isolate.
The latest rules both bans foreign visitors who have been in or transited through Denmark and expands the self-isolation requirements for returning Britons and residents to include all members of their households.
According to the Department for Transport, the Denmark measure and new requirements will be reviewed after a week.
The Danish government has confirmed that five Covid-19 mutation clusters due to farmed minks have so far infected 214 people in the North Jutland region.
Read:|Early to judge if COVID-19 mutation in minks can impact vaccine: WHO Chief Scientist
It has already responded to the threat posed by the mutated coronavirus by starting the culling of 17 million minks and shutting down the entire mink industry in the country while applying severe local restrictions in the affected region.
Authorities in North Jutland were also preparing to mass test 280,000 citizens in seven affected municipalities, where most of the country's 1,137 mink farms are located.
IANS
