Canada to halt entry of UK flights over coronavirus variant

European countries suspended flights from Britain after the discovery of the new strain

The British government warned that a potent new strain of the virus was "out of control". Credit: AFP

Canada will halt the entry of passenger flights from Britain for 72 hours from midnight Sunday, authorities announced, the latest nation to take action over a new fast-spreading strain of coronavirus in the UK.

"Given the high number of cases of a variant Covid-19 virus observed in some areas in the United Kingdom, the decision has been made to suspend entry into Canada of all commercial and private passenger flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours," said a statement from Canadian health authorities.

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