Iran suspends flights from UK after new virus strain emerges
Iranian officials have grown alarmed over the new strain of the coronavirus that appears much more contagious.
After reports of a new strain of the coronavirus that has erupted in the United Kingdom, Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development has suspended flights from the United Kingdom for two weeks. The Ministry of Health made the request after it was determined that there is a new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus in southeast England.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki called for the suspension of flights earlier today. In a letter that was published online, Namaki also said that anyone who has traveled from or through the UK be immediately tested, quarantined and monitored.
An article in Javan Online, a publication close to the Revolutionary Guards, dubbed the new strain of the virus the “British corona." The article said the new strain is 70% more contagious and is more deadly, though this latter claim has not been proven true.
The new strain has officials in Iran worried. Iran has been one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, and economic sanctions from the United States have prevented the country from enforcing longer lockdowns. Over 50,000 people in Iran have lost their lives to the virus since February, and officials believe the actual number could be twice as high. The country is experiencing its third wave, which has brought daily deaths to an all-time high, reaching well into 300 for the first time since the arrival of the virus.
