Several EU nations halt UK flights, fearing virus variant

France is banning all travel from the UK for 48 hours in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of the coronavirus in Britain doesn't reach its shores, officials said

The ban announced by the prime minister's office will come into effect from midnight Sunday — the French government reacting to tougher measures imposed in and around London on Saturday. Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy are among several countries to have banned travel from the UK

The French statement clarified that the short 48-hour period would buy authorities time to find a "common doctrine" on how to deal with the threat. It specified that "flows of people or transport to the UK are not affected."