Brazil neighbors limit travel to halt virus strain’s spread

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s neighbors have started restricting international travel amid concern about the spread of a new coronavirus variant that experts say may be more contagious and driving a second wave of infections. Guyana’s government closed its border with South America’s largest country on Friday, two days after Colombia halted passenger flights to and from Brazil; both nations cited the new variant as their reason. Argentina’s government decided to cut in half the number of flights to Brazil starting Feb. 1, according to a Jan. 27 report in state news agency Telam. And Peru on Jan. 26 banned air traffic from Brazil; the governor of Peru’s Loreto department bordering Brazil called on the government to shut down land crossings, too.