Covid-19 New Variant: Oman Shuts Borders, Suspends Flights

The Sultanate of Oman decides Monday to ban entry to and exit from the country through the land, air and sea ports, starting tomorrow morning and for a week.

The Omani state-owned television announced that the decision comes in the wake of measures imposed by several countries, after the spread of a "new variant" of the novel coronavirus.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had announced that the mutated variant, VUI-202012/01, maybe 70 percent more transmissible.

British Health Minister Matt Hancock confirmed, "The COVID-19 new variant is out of control," adding in an interview to "Sky News", that "it will be difficult to control the new variant of the novel coronavirus before the vaccines are distributed on a large scale."

"We want to put an end to the spread of the new variant of the virus through social distancing measures,” he added.

Besides, the British Minister of Health noted that "Our plan is to finish vaccinating a million people within days," pointing to the decision to re-impose quarantine in London and the south-east of England.

The British "Sky News" network also quoted the chief medical officer in England, Professor Chris Whitty, that there are 23 different changes with this new variant.