Asia follows Europe to ban travel from UK after COVID variant found

Asian governments have started to bar travel from the UK after Boris Johnson's government said a coronavirus variant was out of control in parts of the country. Hong Kong said Monday that it will ban anyone who has spent at least two hours in the UK in the past two weeks from boarding a flight to the city, due to the outbreak of the new more virulent strain. Permanent residents of Hong Kong will be included in the ban, the first time they have been restricted from inbound travel since the outbreak began. Travelers who have arrived in Hong Kong in the past two weeks from the UK will also have to spend a third week in quarantine. Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific later said it was canceling all flights to and from the UK until Jan. 10. India took similar action, saying it would suspend flights from 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday. The country's Ministry of Civil Aviation said the flights would be halted until the same time on Dec. 31 "considering the prevailing situation in the UK." Both India and Hong Kong have strong ties to Britain. Australia also said it had detected two cases of the new strain of the virus among travelers from the UK. But it did not change flight arrangements, saying its existing quarantine rules were working.<br/>