MORE EU NATIONS BANNING UK FLIGHTS OVER COVID

The list of European Union (EU) countries stopping flights from Britain continued to grow on Sunday as alarmed officials reacted to a new, highly contagious variant of the coronavirus that has sent London and southeastern England into lockdown, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

The Netherlands was the first on Sunday to announce an immediate ban on flights, with similar advisories coming throughout the day from Belgium, Austria, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Sweden.

Ireland will institute a 48-hour flight ban to Britain while ferries will be limited to freight travel. Outside of Europe, Canada's government also announced it would ban flights from Britain for 72 hours starting Monday.

Germany has banned nearly all flights from Britain starting from midnight, with a few exceptions, including cargo planes. The German Interior Ministry also ordered the police to immediately begin checking passengers from Britain. The new strain is "out of control," British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC News on Sunday.

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