LONDON: Britain will end coronavirus quarantines for people arriving in England from more than 50 countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy - but not the United States - the government said on Friday.
The move, effective July 10, clears the way for millions of British tourists to take summer holidays without worrying about being quarantined when they return. Those arriving from higher risk countries will still have to self-quarantine for 14 days under a rule which has angered airlines and travel companies.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government had debated for days how to ease the quarantine rules. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which set their own health policies within the United Kingdom, have not announced plans to lift the measures.
"Today marks the next step in carefully reopening our great nation," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
As the spread of the novel coronavirus slows in Europe, countries are reopening travel after more than three months of lockdown.
The full list of countries was published here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors
Australia, New Zealand and Japan are included, as are Caribbean tourist destinations such as the Bahamas and Barbados, but popular holiday destination Portugal was not on the list. Nor were the United States, China, India or Russia.
"The US from a very early stage banned flights from the UK and from Europe so there isn't a reciprocal arrangement in place," Shapps said.
Britain's foreign ministry also set out exemptions from a global advisory against "all but essential" international travel, from July 4, a key to normal insurance being valid.
The government said it expected countries included on the quarantine-free list to reciprocate by relaxing their own restrictions.
The move to ditch the quarantine prompted three of Europe's biggest airlines, British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet to end a legal challenge against the government.
Britain, with the highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe, is slowly reopening its economy. England and Northern Ireland will reopen pubs this weekend, and Scotland and Wales are expected to follow later in July.
Johnson has warned people to maintain social distancing rules and is expected to repeat that caution at a news conference on Friday.
"Anyone who flouts social distancing and COVID-secure rules is not only putting us all at risk but letting down those businesses and workers who have done so much to prepare for this new normal," he will say.
Beaches beckon as England to end quarantine for more than 50 countries
https://arab.news/n45u9
Beaches beckon as England to end quarantine for more than 50 countries
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will each announce their own separate rules
- The government said it expected countries included on the quarantine-free list to reciprocate by relaxing their own restrictions
Two Turkish tourists killed in Ethiopia
- Southwestern Ethiopia is home to semi-nomadic herders, notably from the Suri and Surma tribes, who are often armed to defend their herds
ADDIS ABABA: Two Turkish tourists and their Ethiopian driver have been killed by armed herders in southwestern Ethiopia, regional authorities said late on Monday, describing the attack as a “heinous act.”
The attack took place in the Suri district, about 330 km southwest of the capital Addis Ababa, and was carried out by “pastoralist bandits” on Monday morning, authorities in the Southwest region said on Facebook.
They did not give further details of the circumstances.
Southwestern Ethiopia is home to semi-nomadic herders, notably from the Suri and Surma tribes, who are often armed to defend their herds.
Regional authorities said they were conducting a “major law enforcement operation” to “pursue and bring to justice the bandits who committed this heinous act.”
Ethiopia, which emerged in 2022 from a bloody civil war in the northern Tigray region, is seeking to attract international tourists as it looks to diversify its largely state-led economy.
The Horn of Africa nation — the second most populous on the continent with around 130 million people — continues to face armed conflicts in its two most populous regions, Oromia and Amhara.
