UK New COVID-19 Strain Found In Belgium

Belgium recorded four cases of the new strain of coronavirus first discovered in England at the start of December, health officials have said.

The four cases were discovered earlier this month in the northern Flemish regions that border the Netherlands, spokesman for Belgium’s health minister, Jan Eyckmans said.

A spokesman for the national virus crisis centre said the figure was conservative and that other infections by the strain could have gone undetected as Belgium screens for new mutations far less than Britain does.

“It’s not much, but it is not impossible that there are more,” Yves Van Laethem said.

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According to experts, the new strain of the virus discovered in Britain appears to spread more easily than other types but there is no evidence it is more dangerous or resistant to vaccines.

Its discovery has led more than two dozen countries around the world, including Belgium, to suspend travel from the UK out of precaution since the weekend.

But infectious diseases expert Van Laethem warned that the decision to close borders may have come too late.

“Isn’t the enemy already among us? I don’t know, but it’s not impossible. This closure was perhaps already too late since they started finding cases of this English strain in September,” he said.