Greece introduces 7-day quarantine for travelers from UK amid fears of new COVID-19 strain

Athens [Greece], December 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Greece has introduced a seven-day quarantine for all passengers arriving from the United Kingdom as a preventive measure against the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant recently discovered in parts of the UK, the Greek Secretary General for Civil Protection said on Sunday.
"With regard to all arrivals from the United Kingdom, it is announced that starting from 6 a.m. [04:00 GMT] on Monday, December 21, the requirement of seven-day home isolation comes into force instead of the three-day [isolation] that applies to arrivals from every other country," the authority said in a statement.
It added that all travelers were still required to have a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test submitted no more than 72 hours before arrival.
A number of European nations, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Italy, have already decided to introduce a ban on UK arrivals.
Earlier this week, the UK health authorities detected a new mutated strain of the coronavirus that transmits faster and accounts for over half of all recorded cases in southern England and other affected areas. (ANI/Sputnik)