Britain said on Thursday it would ban arrivals from Latin American countries and Portugal for fear of a coronavirus variant discovered in Brazil.
In recent weeks, British authorities have struggled to contain the spread of a different variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain that is more contagious than its predecessors.
Currently, at least two variants of the coronavirus circulate in Brazil and at least one has already escaped its borders, traveling to Japan.
Japanese authorities found one of these variants in four people who traveled from Brazil earlier this week. The variant contains a mutation that has been associated with a higher contagion, similar to the variant found in Great Britain and another in South Africa.
Like the variant found in South Africa, the one exported from Brazil to Japan also carries a mutation that could weaken the effectiveness of vaccines. This same mutation has also been identified in another variant of the coronavirus recently discovered in Brazil.
Experts warned, however, that it would be very difficult for new variants of the coronavirus to escape vaccines entirely.
The British ban is expected to take effect on Friday at 4 am, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter. “Travel from Portugal to the United Kingdom will also be suspended due to its strong links with Brazil,” added Shapps, although truck drivers transporting essential goods from Portugal are exempt.
Britain has already banned flights from South Africa. Brazil has banned flights from Britain on Christmas Day.
British officials have been criticized by opposition lawmakers for delaying a travel ban in Latin America, but argued that implementing such measures takes time and that travelers from those countries had to be quarantined for 10 days after arrival.
“What we need to ensure is that when we make these very, very important decisions that have a big impact on people’s personal lives, but also on business, we need to have a little time,” said the Interior Ministry’s junior minister, Victoria Atkins said on Sky News.
Last week, Britain faced some of its deadliest days since the pandemic began, and health officials warned that the country’s health care system was on the verge of collapse. Authorities have warned that they can tighten blockade measures across the country if the public does not stay home.
Britain recorded almost 85,000 deaths, the highest number of deaths in Europe.