Mexico rules out closing flights with United Kingdom due to variant the coronavirus.
The Mexican government ruled out this Tuesday to suspend flights from the United Kingdom because it considers that the new variant of coronavirus detected must already be spread by “many countries” and because it does not represent “an additional threat” to public health.
See also: Aeromexico and Latam Airlines sign code share agreement.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) advises against the closure of flights from the United Kingdom because there is no evidence that this represents an additional threat to public health,” said at a press conference the Undersecretary of Health and government strategist against the coronavirus, Hugo Lopez-Gatell.
Also, the epidemiologist defended that “closing flights from the United Kingdom would not have a contribution to reduce the risk” because the new variant of the coronavirus is possibly already “very widespread throughout the world,” reported EFE.
See also: Aeromexico, second airline to resume flights with 737 MAX.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Mexico is one of the few countries in the region that has not adopted air restrictions to stop contagion or applied coercive measures to confine the population.
The WHO has said there is no evidence that the new variant of the coronavirus identified in the United Kingdom is causing a more serious infection or affecting the effectiveness of available diagnostic tests and vaccines, although it has admitted that it appears to be a more contagious mutation.
This situation has led dozens of countries to decide to temporarily suspend their air links with the United Kingdom, in order to contain the spread of this new strain of the virus.
López-Gatell reminded that since the beginning of the epidemic, “multiple mutations” of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19 disease, have been detected.
Regarding the variant recently detected in the United Kingdom, there are cases since last September, so “it is likely that it is already circulating in multiple countries,” insisted the Mexican epidemiologist.
He added that the preliminary information points out that the new variable “could be up to 70% more transmissible”, but he qualified that “there is no evidence” that it is more virulent, more infectious, more lethal or that it affects more young people.
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Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial líder en América Latina.