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French President Emmanuel Macron, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Thursday, said, \"All this shows the complexity of the virus, its aggressiveness, dare I say its inventiveness and the humility that we must always have.\"

\"PHOTO:
Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP
PHOTO: People at St Pancras station in London, wait to board the last train to Paris on Dec. 20, 2020.
>

There is so far no evidence the variant would prove resistant to vaccines, and the data, which has been shared with the World Health Organization, Johnson said, was \"early\" and \"subject to review,\" but he had \"to act on information as we have it because this is now spreading very fast.\"

Responding to the news over the past few days, a number of countries have introduced travel bans to the U.K. France, Germany and several other European countries have suspended flights, while similar measures have been taken around the world – as far as Canada and Hong Kong. The U.S. has not yet joined the list of countries banning travel to the U.K., though New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called on the federal government to impose restrictions in light of the new variant.

When asked if the potential for the variant to be more transmissible could make it more deadly, Jones said, \"Almost certainly no. The press speculation currently equates new and higher transmission with more deadly. There is no evidence at all for this (i.e. higher death rates). In fact the general rule in virology is that higher transmission is associated with a less severe infection.\"

The news comes as Europe continues to battle its second wave of coronavirus infections. Several countries have announced a brief amnesty on restrictions to allow people to meet with their loved ones on Christmas Day, but it remains to be seen whether the presence of the new variant will lead to further restrictions across the continent.

ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud contributed to this report

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