If you are wondering how bad things could get, then the new coronavirus strain has made it clear. It can get much worse. The UK announced a new strain and the Dutch authorities immediately made travelers from the UK to quarantine and proceeded to block arrivals and departures from the Netherlands to the UK.

South Africa too, all flights to Europe are banned now, people who have to travel must quarantine.

Austria followed suit, and France has grounded lorries departing from France. Switzerland joined other European countries suspending flights from the UK. There are 10.000 British nationals that have arrived in the Swiss Alps, in Verbier, a popular destination for skiing.

They have been asked to quarantine. Imagine that.

By Sunday night at least 10 European countries had closed their airspaces to flights from the UK. But not only flights, trains and other modes of transportation also were halted.

According to the UK health authorities this strain is significantly more contagious.

But how does one measure that? Multiple variables, from the sequencing of the virus to evaluating if behavior has changed among the population, and if the number of cases reported are increasing in spite of people abiding to the imposed sanitary measures, according to Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, a principal scientist with WHO.

UNDP: Human Development Report

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) publishes an annual report that looks beyond GDP, the Human Development Report. It usually focuses on health and education. This year it looked at the impact of COVID-19 on already vulnerable populations, and the impact of human activities on the environment, the anthropocene. UNDP’s Administrator, Mr. Achim Steiner, speaking at the World Health Organisation press conference today emphasized the risks to containing the virus worldwide if vaccination is not universal and if stringent measures are not enacted swiftly by governments.

Meanwhile SWISS Air, has grounded all flights between UK and Switzerland.

But not all is lost, there is an app that will help you get back to Switzerland.