Covid-19 global updates England reopens borders to fully vaccinated visitors from US Europe

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Grant Shapps, Britain’s transportation minister, tweeted that “we’re helping reunite people living in the US and European countries with their family and friends in the UK.”

Starting on Aug. 2 at 4 a.m. people coming to England from so-called “amber” list countries, which includes the United States and the European Union will no longer have to quarantine, just take a coronavirus test before flying and then two days after arrival.

Travelers must provide proof of inoculation with a vaccine authorized by the U.S. or European agencies, Shapps added.

“We want people to be able to come from the U.S. freely in a way that they normally do,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview with LBC radio that aired Wednesday morning.

The move would apply to all European travelers from the European Union and associated countries in the European Free Trade Association, except those from France, who must continue to quarantine even if fully vaccinated, the Department of Transport said in a statement.

Here are some significant developments:

Australian officials in Sydney extended the city’s lockdown by another four weeks Wednesday, citing a growing outbreak of the more contagious delta variant that first flared in June. The stay-at-home order will apply to Sydney, the capital of New South Wales state, and other regional centers.

A decision Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend mask-wearing indoors for vaccinated people brings the United States back in line with the World Health Organization and some foreign governments. The WHO currently advises all people, vaccinated or not, to continue wearing masks when around others.

Thailand reported another record number of new infections Wednesday, registering more than 16,500 cases mostly in the capital, Bangkok, as an outbreak also flared in Phuket, one of the Southeast Asian nation’s most popular tourism spots.

Amid widespread vaccine hesitancy, Russia has warned that workers who refuse to get inoculated could be suspended without pay as the immunization rate lags at 16 percent despite a third pandemic wave.

New daily coronavirus cases in Tokyo reached more than 3,000 for the first time, local media reported Wednesday. Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics also said Wednesday that 16 more people associated with the games tested positive for the virus. None of those who were infected are athletes, the organizers said.

Currently, travelers from the United States must quarantine for 10 days but can opt to take an additional coronavirus test after day five to be released. Only those who have been vaccinated by Britain’s own health system are eligible for a so-called “covid pass” that would allow them to skip quarantine.

The move may put pressure on the United States to relax some of its own restrictions on travelers. Britain, along with most of Europe, remains under a U.S. travel ban that was first imposed by President Donald Trump in March 2020.

The White House said Monday that the continuation of existing travel restrictions was due to concerns about the delta variant. But business groups and travelers have complained that the rules are not reciprocal and that the delta variant is already spreading widely in the United States.

The European Union lifted restrictions on U.S. travelers several weeks ago.

The move to lift travel restrictions in England follows a broader relaxation of covid-related curbs earlier this month, even as new cases surged amid an outbreak of the delta variant, which experts say is much more contagious than the original coronavirus strain.

Other parts of the United Kingdom have kept some rules in place, even as they were relaxed in neighboring England. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, said Tuesday that Scottish rules may be relaxed next month. London’s airports, however, remain the principle entry point to Britain.

Over the past week, public health authorities have reported a 30 percent decline in new infections across Britain, a downturn officials have attributed to the country’s successful vaccination campaign.

“We do know that double vaccination hasn’t just protected us domestically … [It] has also opened up possibilities for us to look again at international travel,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News Wednesday. “And I know, whether it’s businesses or individuals that want to go on holiday, that would be an important step.”

Even as cases fell in Britain, the United States continued to grapple with a spike in new cases also blamed on the delta variant.

“At the moment we’re dealing with a delta wave, the U.S. is dealing with a delta wave, but be assured that we are on it the whole time,” Johnson said Wednesday.

“We’ve seen some encouraging recent data. There’s no question about that,” he said. “But it is far, far too early to make, to draw any general conclusions.”

Opposition leaders Wednesday called the move even before it was announced “reckless,” however, warning against the spread of new variants and urging the government to maintain restrictions until a more unified system was in place.

“I am very concerned about the government’s announcement via the press this morning,” Labour Party deputy leader, Angela Rayner, told Sky News. “We need to make sure that we have got a proper data-driven analysis and that we look at an international passport for vaccines … We also know that people who have had the vaccine of course can still get the virus, so a testing regime is very important and crucial as well.”

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