UK NEWS | Travel to UK from Denmark banned amid concerns over COVID in mink

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that foreign visitors from Denmark will be denied entry.

The unprecedented move is because of serious concerns about mutations of coronavirus spreading from mink to humans.

All 17 million mink currently being bred on Danish farms are to be culled.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said on Twitter: “This decision to act quickly follows on from health authorities in Denmark reporting widespread outbreaks of coronavirus in mink farms. Keeping the UK public safe remains our top priority.”

A spokeswoman from the Department for Transport said: “Unlike other travel to the UK, there will be no exemptions to this quarantine policy.

“The UK government is working closely with international partners to understand the changes in the virus that have been reported in Denmark and we are conducting a programme of further research here in the UK to inform our risk assessments.”