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Germany to impose restrictions on travel from U.K.
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The World Health Organization on Saturday said it was "in close contact with U.K. officials on the new COVID-19 virus variant". /Oscar del Pozo/AFP

The World Health Organization on Saturday said it was "in close contact with U.K. officials on the new COVID-19 virus variant". /Oscar del Pozo/AFP

Germany plans to impose restrictions on travelers from the U.K. and South Africa in efforts to curb the importation of a new strain of coronavirus that has been reported in the two countries.

AFP reports an unnamed government source to say the country will suspend air links with U.K. from midnight.

Other countries have already announced restrictions on travel from the U.K, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Austria.

According to AP, the German government said it is in contact with its European partners about the travel restrictions too. It wasn't immediately clear when or for how long the restrictions would be.

As of Sunday, Germany had reported 1,511,428 COVID-19 infections with 26,222 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organization on Saturday said it was "in close contact with U.K. officials on the new COVID-19 virus variant" and promised to provide updates after more information about it is learned.

The new strain was identified in southeastern England in September and has been circulating in the area ever since, a WHO official told the BBC on Sunday.

"What we understand is that it does have increased transmissibility, in terms of its ability to spread," said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on COVID-19.

(With input from agencies)

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