Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland were among those that announced bans travel from UK . British officials have reported that a mutation of the virus appears to speed its transmission, and they have imposed severe restrictions on 18 million people in London and across southern England.
Germany, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, also called a special crisis meeting on Monday to coordinate the response to the virus news among the bloc’s 27 member states.
The Netherlands banned flights from the UK for at least the rest of the year while Belgium issued a flight ban for 24 hours starting at midnight and also halted train links to Britain, including the Eurostar.
An EU official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were still ongoing, said on Sunday afternoon the European Commission was in touch with member states on the rapidly developing situation.
Just days before Christmas, high-speed train operator Eurostar cancelled its trains between London, Brussels and Amsterdam beginning Monday, but kept trains operating on the London-to-Paris route.
The EU governments said they were taking action in response to tougher measures imposed on Saturday by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on London and its surrounding areas.
Johnson immediately put those regions into a new Tier 4 restriction level, upending Christmas plans for millions.
He said a fast-moving new variant of the virus that is 70 percent more transmissible than existing strains appeared to be driving the rapid spread of new infections in London and southern England.
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