LONDON: Britain is tightening border controls to block new variants of COVID-19, suspending all “travel corridor” arrangements that had meant arrivals from some countries did not require quarantine.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is grappling to control a third wave of the virus and prevent the health service from collapse while also racing to vaccinate millions each week.
“What we don’t want to see is all that hard work undone by the arrival of a new variant that is vaccine-busting,” he told a news conference, explaining the end of travel corridors at least until Feb. 15.
The rule changes come into force at 0400 GMT on Monday and mean all passengers must have a recent negative coronavirus test and transfer immediately into isolation upon arrival.
Isolation lasts for 10 days, unless the passenger tests negative after five.
On Thursday, Britain banned arrivals from South America, Portugal and some other countries over fears about a variant detected in Brazil.
Britain’s current lockdowns ban most international travel meaning that airline schedules are currently minimal, but the withdrawal of any quarantine-free travel will be a further blow for an industry already on its knees.
UK-based airline easyJet said there was no immediate impact from Johnson’s announcement, but in a statement added: “We need to ensure that travel corridors are put back in place when it is safe to do so.”
Britain has already felt the effects of mutations in the virus, after a variant first discovered in England has proved to be more transmissible.
Critics say the government has been too slow to act and previously left borders wide open.
Much of the criticism prior to Friday’s announcement has focused on whether rules requiring arriving passengers to quarantine are actually being enforced, with anecdotal evidence that few checks are made.
“We will be stepping up our enforcement, both at the border and in country,” Johnson said.
Britain tightens borders to keep out new COVID-19 variants
https://arab.news/89dd4
Britain tightens borders to keep out new COVID-19 variants
- Johnson is grappling to control a third wave of the virus and prevent the health service from collapse
- The rule changes come into force at 0400 GMT on Monday
Zelensky talks with allies en route to US as Russia pummels Ukraine
- Zelensky will meet Trump on Sunday, with focus on a new, 20-point plan that would freeze the war on its current front line
- In a conference call Saturday, the Ukrainian leader briefed EU, NATO and European leaders, who gave him their “full support”
OTTAWA, Canada: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky consulted with allies on Saturday and won renewed expressions of support ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump, hours after Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles in its latest attack on the capital.
During a stopover in Canada en route to Florida for the Trump meeting, the Ukrainian president spoke first with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Then, in a conference call, he briefed EU, NATO and European leaders, who gave him their “full support” according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post they welcomed “a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Zelensky said the Russian onslaught showed Moscow had no intention of ending the invasion it launched in February 2022 and which has killed tens of thousands of people.
“This attack is again, Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesn’t want peace, and we want peace,” Zelensky said before meeting the Canadian premier.
Carney said the latest Russian attack underscored the need to stand by Ukraine.
“We have the conditions... of a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willing Russia, and the barbarism that we saw overnight... shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine,” said Carney.
Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.
Adding to pressure on the battlefield, Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole.
“If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.
‘They do not want to end the war’
The overnight barrage of drones and missiles, which targeted Kyiv for about 10 hours, killed two people, wounded dozens and cut power and heating to more than a million of the region’s residents during freezing temperatures, Ukraine authorities said.
Zelensky said some 500 drones and 40 missiles had pounded the capital and its surrounding region.
“Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals (missiles) and Shaheds (drones) speak for them,” he said.
“They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering,” he added.
Neighbouring Poland, a NATO member, scrambled jets and put air defenses on alert during the attack, its military said on social media.
‘Security guarantees should be strong’
Sunday’s meeting in Florida is to focus on a new, 20-point plan that would freeze the war on its current front line. It could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarised buffer zones, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.
The new plan, formulated with Ukraine’s input, is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.
It is a marked departure from an initial 28-point proposal by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.
Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico on Friday, said of Zelensky’s plan that “he doesn’t have anything until I approve it.” He added: “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy.
Zelensky said those were changing daily. “As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” he added.
Zelensky said his meeting with the US leader was aimed at reducing unresolved issues to a minimum.
“Of course, today there are red lines for Ukraine and Ukrainian people. There are compromise proposals. All of these issues are very sensitive,” he said on X.
Meanwhile, Ukraine needed European and US support to acquire weapons and funds, both of which were insufficient, Zelensky said — “in particular for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones.”
In negotiations, Ukraine’s “most important consideration — if we take certain steps — is that security guarantees should be strong and we should be protected,” he said.
Ukraine is working with the US on a roadmap for the country’s reconstruction, said Zelensky, which will require between $700 billion and $800 billion.
