At a meeting on December 20 between Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boiko Borissov, Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, Transport Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov and Health Minister Kostadin Angelov, it was decided to suspend all flights between Bulgaria and the UK from December 21 until January 31, Bulgaria’s government media service said.
As of December 20, everyone arriving in Bulgaria from the United Kingdom – including Bulgarian citizens – will be subject to a mandatory 10-day quarantine, Bulgaria’s Angelov decreed in an order on Sunday.
The measure is necessary because of a new strain of Covid-19, reported to be spreading in the UK, Bulgaria’s Health Ministry said.
A number of European countries have banned, or are planning to ban, travel from the UK to prevent the spread of a more infectious coronavirus variant.
The Netherlands and Belgium have halted flights, with Italy to follow suit. Ireland is expected to restrict flights and ferries from midnight (11pm GMT) on Sunday. France and Germany are among others considering similar action, the BBC reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel held talks on Sunday to discuss the new variant of the coronavirus and to consult one another as several European countries ban flights from the UK, Deutsche Welle reported.
