31 May 2021 12:00 am Views - 127
Italy extends entry ban for SL, India, and Bangladesh due to the Indian COVID variant. Italy extended Sunday an entry ban for people coming from Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh as a continued precaution against the more transmissible variant of the novel coronavirus, first detected in India.
The ban, which does not apply to Italian citizens, was introduced in late April and was due to expire on Sunday. It was extended until June 21, a spokesman for Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in a statement.
The Indian covid-19 (B.1.617) variant of the coronavirus was first detected in India last year and has been blamed for much of a devastating Covid-19 wave that has battered South Asian nations in recent weeks.
This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the variant has officially spread to 53 territories, and has been linked to seven other territories by unofficial sources, taking the total to 60.
In an interview with AFP, WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said the increased contagiousness of the new variants of the coronavirus, including the Indian one, was one of his main worries.
“We know for example that the B.1617 is more transmissible than the B.117 (British variant), which already was more transmissible than the previous strain,” the Belgian doctor said.