Priti Patel warned the new Covid-19 strain is more transmissable, describing it as "bouncy". AP
Priti Patel warned the new Covid-19 strain is more transmissable, describing it as "bouncy". AP
Priti Patel warned the new Covid-19 strain is more transmissable, describing it as "bouncy". AP
Priti Patel warned the new Covid-19 strain is more transmissable, describing it as "bouncy". AP

Priti Patel: new mutant Covid-19 strain is ‘bouncy’


Paul Carey
  • English
  • Arabic

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel described the new strain of Covid-19 sweeping across Britain as “bouncy”.

She told Sky News: “This new strain of coronavirus is a stronger strain of the virus in the sense it’s more transmittable. It’s a bouncy virus.”

Ms Patel said the government would not hesitate to take stronger measures if case numbers continue to rise.

The new strain is up to 70 per cent more infectious and led the British government at the weekend to introduce tighter restrictions on London and surrounding areas.

European states, Canada, Kuwait, Israel, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are among those banning flights from the UK to try to stop its spread. An EU agency reported, however, that at least three other European countries have recorded cases of the new mutation.

UK opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday the spread of a new strain of the coronavirus was “out of control”.

Chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance said on Monday that the new strain was being seen in different parts of the UK.

“We know there are cases everywhere, it’s not as though we can stop this getting into other places,” he said.

The UK recorded a further 33,364 COVID-19 cases on Monday and 215 deaths of people who had tested positive for the virus within 28 days.
That compares with 35,928 cases announced on Sunday and 326 deaths.

Ms Patel gave an update on the situation regarding the border chaos that struck the UK since the new virus strain emerged. She said the government is working with France in an attempt to find a way to lift border closures snarling one of Europe's most important trade routes just days before the Brexit cut-off.

She said food in Britain is plentiful and shoppers should not be concerned about supermarkets running out of supplies.

On Monday, Britain's two biggest supermarket groups, Tesco and Sainsbury's, said that gaps will start to appear on British supermarket shelves within days if transport ties with mainland Europe were not quickly restored.

But Ms Patel played down those concerns.

"I don't think anybody should be worried – there is plenty of food in our shops," Ms Patel told LBC.

People queue outside Waitrose supermarket in south London amid fears there could be food shortages over Christmas. Reuters.
People queue outside Waitrose supermarket in south London amid fears there could be food shortages over Christmas. Reuters.

Much of the world closed borders to the UK in recent days after London identified a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, leaving hundreds of lorry drivers stranded in southern England.

France shut its border to arrivals of people and lorries from Britain. The BBC cited French Europe Minister Clement Beaune as saying that Britain and France would announce a deal to restart freight by Wednesday.

"We speak to our colleagues in France constantly on a range of issues and that work has been under way over the last 24 hours and we'll continue today," Ms Patel told Sky.

Asked if there would be a resolution today, Ms Patel said: "We're working to get a resolution. It's in both our interests to ensure that we have flow.

"We'll see what materialises today," Ms Patel said.

The discovery of the new strain, mere months before vaccines are expected to be widely available, sowed new panic in a pandemic that has killed about 1.7 million people worldwide and more than 67,000 in Britain.

With the UK in effective Covid quarantine nine days before it is due to end informal EU membership, some shoppers stripped shelves in supermarkets.

As financial markets tumbled, stranded lorry drivers near the port of Dover said they just wanted to get back home in time for Christmas.

THE DETAILS

Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5

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About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Gulf Under 19s final

Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

EXPATS
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
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  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full

1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
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MATCH INFO

Liverpool 3

Sadio Man 28'

Andrew Robertson 34'

Diogo Jota 88'

Arsenal 1

Lacazette 25'

Man of the match

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

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Analysis

Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers