Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City, said on January 18th local time that the first mutant coronavirus found in the United Kingdom is the biggest challenge facing New York City at present, and he called for a ban on passengers entering the United States from the United Kingdom.
“Now, this mutant COVID-19 is our number one challenge,” De Blasio said in an interview.
“New York City’s healthcare leadership said we are racing against time to vaccinate the most people against the variant virus from spreading like wildfires.”
Health experts say the variant COVID-19, known as B.1.1.7, may be more contagious, and the CDC said last week that the spread of B.1.1.7 could accelerate the spread of COVID-19 in the United States.
De Blasio said he opposed lifting travel restrictions to the United States related to the COVID-19 epidemic.
In fact, he supports the complete closure of travel routes from Britain to the United States.
“I hope President-elect Biden will impose a travel ban on the UK until our country reaches higher levels of vaccination, and we cannot risk it,” he said.
