Hong Kong Bans Travel to Britain

Hong Kong has banned all flights from the United Kingdom starting at midnight local time on Monday, becoming the first city in Asia to announce such a halt after the discovery of a new highly pathogenic strain of coronavirus in Britain.

Health Minister Sophia Chan said stricter measures are needed to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

Asian countries including Japan and South Korea have said they are closely monitoring the new strain, but have not stopped UK flights immediately.