FILE- In this Friday Dec. 18, 2020, file photo, A traveller wearing a face mask checks the flight departures at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Netherlands is banning flights from the United Kingdom for the rest of the year in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of the COVID-19 virus in Britain does not reach its shores. The ban came into effect Sunday morning Dec. 20, 2020, and the government said it was reacting to tougher measures imposed in and around London on Saturday. The Netherlands said it will assess "with other EU nations the possibilities to contain the import of the virus from the United Kingdom." (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, FILE)

WHO Members To Meet On Wednesday On New Virus Variant

By InsideBusiness On Dec 22, 2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called a meeting of members for Wednesday to discuss strategies to counter a new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain.

A spokeswoman said the meeting was designed to help with information-sharing.

“Limiting travel to contain spread is prudent until we have better info,” Hans Kluge, the WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, tweeted.

However, the Geneva-based body has cautioned against major alarm over the variant, saying it is a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution and praising Britain for detecting it.

As trucks barred from entering France backed up along miles of motorway in southern England, the WHO also said in a statement that cargo transport for essential supplies such as food, medicines and fuel should be prioritised and facilitated.

“Supply chains for essential goods & essential travel should remain possible,” Kluge tweeted.

Drugmakers including BioNTech and Moderna are scrambling to test their COVID-19 vaccines against the new variant.

The WHO repeated that there was not yet enough information to determine whether the new variant could affect vaccine efficacy.

(Reuters)