The UK ordered patients suspected of contracting a virus from mink in Denmark into isolation as fears that the mutated coronavirus strain could undermine vaccine efforts increased.
Hospitals were told to quarantine and gene test coronavirus patients who recently travelled from Denmark.
Doctors were told the strain showed "less sensitivity for neutralising antibodies", The Telegraph said.
Patients who recently travelled to Denmark must not be offered routine outpatient, ambulatory or primary care, an alert to British doctors said.
If patients tested positive for coronavirus they must be treated in specialist centres, it said.
Known as cluster five, the variant has four mutations in the spike protein, the part of the virus scientists put into vaccines to help drive antibodies.
The mutated strain is believed to have jumped from farmed mink to humans in northern Denmark in June.
There are now more than 200 patients with coronavirus infections linked to mink farms.
At the weekend, the UK banned entry to all non-residents coming from Denmark, while UK citizens must isolate for two weeks.
The travel ban came as vets began the grim task of gassing and burning 17 million mink to help stop the spread of the strain.
Scientists said virus mutations are common and often harmless, and this one does not cause a more severe illness in humans.
But Prof Wendy Barclay, a biologist at Imperial College London, said the mink strain was unusual and should be taken seriously because of the risk to the vaccine.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "If the spike protein of the virus is now different to it was when we first started developing the vaccine, there would be a mismatch.
“The protection we get might not be as good as we want it to be.”
Prof Barclay said that it was still unclear how damaging the new strain could prove, but authorities should monitor it.
“It’s so important we group together and work with the Danish,” she said.
The new health measures to quarantine Britons arriving from Denmark mirrored those imposed on returning travellers from Wuhan, central China, at the start of the pandemic.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Sunday the ban was the “right decision”.
He told Sky News: “The concern is that you see a mutated version of the coronavirus and that if it spread, it would undermine our ability to make an effective vaccine.
“We need to look very carefully at the science.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden also reported the disease in mink.
It said the implications of the mutated strain were not yet well understood but the variation appeared to be less inhibited by antibodies.
THE SPECS
Engine: AMG-enhanced 3.0L inline-6 turbo with EQ Boost and electric auxiliary compressor
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 429hp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh360,200 (starting)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
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Rating: 4/5
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
