Britain faces isolation as world tightens borders to keep out new coronavirus strain

A departures board shows a cancelled flight from Paris to London Gatwick at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy near Paris, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

DOVER, England (Reuters) - Countries across the globe shut their borders to Britain on Monday due to fears about a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages days before Britain is set to leave the European Union.

India, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Jordan and Hong Kong suspended travel for Britons after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a mutated variant of the virus had been identified in the country. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman closed their borders completely.