Bill de Blasio calls for FULL travel ban from UK to US because of Super-COVID strain that’s now been detected in Colorado, California, New York and Florida
- Bill de Blasio called on the federal government to act ‘right now’ and ban all travel from the UK to the US during his daily press briefing
- The Mayor said its a necessary measure to keep the UK’s super-infectious variant at bay, after one person in upstate New York was confirmed to have it
- He said it was time to stop ‘half measures’ and take affirmative action
- De Blasio said the ban would buy New York time to get its residents vaccinated
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has called for a full travel ban from the UK to the US as the ‘mutant’ strain of COVID-19 currently causing cases to surge in Britain has now been found in New York.
De Blasio’s plea came during his daily press conference from City Hall on Tuesday morning.
It follows an announcement made by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday, who announced that the super-infectious UK variant of the coronavirus has already been found upstate.
The governor said the man, who works at a jewelry store in Saratoga Springs, had COVID-19 symptoms but is ‘on the mend.’
Three other people linked to the jewelry store have tested positive for COVID-19, but Cuomo said it’s unknown if they have the variant.
De Blasio urged the White House to ‘shut down the danger now’ and stop all travel to and from the UK.
‘We all should be worried about this,’ De Blasio said of the new strain, clarifying that it isn’t more deadly, but is more infections that the original strand.
‘We need the federal government to step up here and ball all travel from the US to the UK,’ he said. ‘It’s time to stop the half measures.
‘Right now you can still get on a plane in London and not even have proof you have a negative test, then come to New York City and merrily spread the disease. Why is that going on. Why?’
De Blasio’s plea came during his daily press conference from City Hall on Tuesday
Referring to the lack of a ban as ‘madness’, de Blasio called for the federal government to implement such a policy ‘right now’. The Mayor said a total ban would buy the state time to ‘get vaccinations done’ and properly protect resident.
‘But if we don’t have a total ban, then we are literally inviting this horrible variant in the door even more – and that makes no sense,’ de Blasio said.
‘The inconvenience [the ban] poses to travelers pales in comparison to the danger this variant poses to all of us.’
The Empire State has become the fourth in the nation to detect the ‘mutant’ variant of the virus that began ravaging across the UK towards the end of last year, forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce a third lockdown Monday.
Much like the first US case of the variant in Colorado, the man in Saratoga Springs had no recent travel history, suggesting a community spread.
The CDC believes the strain first emerged in Britain in September and said last week it suspects it has been circulating in the US for some time.
The strain is thought to be up to 50 percent more transmissible but not more deadly.
The UK is also currently grappling with a second mutant strain of the virus, said to originate from South Africa, which experts few may be resistant to vaccines and potentially more deadly.
That strain has not yet been detected in the US, and de Blasio made no reference to it during his Monday conference.
Officials say they expect more variations of the virus to emerge overtime.
De Blasio urged the government to ‘stop the madness’ and enact the ban immediately
This is a developing story…