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LONDON – Britain is planning a strategy to bring hundreds of thousands of college students home for Christmas without causing a further increase in coronavirus cases.
Scientists say that students traveling from their hometowns to universities in September was one of the drivers of the current wave of COVID-19 in the U.K. There have been multiple outbreaks on campus, with students confined to residences and group activities canceled.
The British government said on Wednesday that it plans to stagger student departures at the end of the term to prevent a mass exodus. They want universities in England to send students home for a period of nine days after the current four-week shutdown in England ends on December 2.
As many students as possible will take COVID-19 rapid-result tests before traveling, the government said, although it was unclear exactly how many would be tested.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries said that “the massive movement of students across the country at the end of the quarter presents a really significant challenge within the response to COVID-19,” but that the measures would reduce the risk.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are likely to take similar steps.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VIRUS OUTBREAK:
– One of the largest cemeteries in the world is struggling under the toll of the coronavirus in Iran.
– Business travel may never look the same after coronavirus
– Texas Becomes Top US State With Over 1 Million Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
– During the early days of the coronavirus, top scientists at the World Health Organization described approaches in some countries as “an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus” and a “macabre” opportunity to see what worked, recordings obtained by The Associated Press and how. Yet in public, the UN health agency praised governments for their responses.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE IS THE MOST HAPPENING:
NAIROBI, Kenya – Ethiopia now has more than 100,000 confirmed coronavirus infections, joining a handful of countries in Africa that have passed that milestone as COVID-19 cases begin to rise again in various places.
The Horn of Africa regional power faces multiple humanitarian crises and now has a growing deadly conflict in its northern Tigray region between federal and regional forces.
The United Nations is calling for humanitarian access to Tigray, as trucks with medical supplies and others are stranded outside the regional border.
Other African nations with more than 100,000 confirmed virus cases on Wednesday include Egypt with more than 109,000; Morocco with more than 265,000 and South Africa with more than 740,000. The 54-nation African continent is approaching 2 million confirmed cases, with just over 1.9 million.
The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say Ethiopia has more than 1,500 deaths from COVID-19.
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HONG KONG – Hong Kong and Singapore will start an air travel bubble later this month, allowing travelers from each city to visit the other without going into quarantine.
Travelers must test negative for the coronavirus before departure, when they arrive and before returning. The bubble begins on November 22 with a designated flight per day to each city with a maximum of 200 travelers each. It will expand to two flights on December 7.
The bubble will be suspended for two weeks if Hong Kong or Singapore report a seven-day moving average of more than five untraceable coronavirus infections, according to the Hong Kong government.
“Hong Kong and Singapore are similar in terms of epidemic control. Both are regional aviation centers and international cities that enjoy strong commercial, investment, financial, tourism and people-to-people links, ”said Hong Kong Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau. “The reactivation of cross-border air travel between the two places is of the utmost importance.”
He said he expects the aviation, tourism, hospitality and retail businesses to benefit from the bubble, and that it will gradually help the Hong Kong economy to recover.
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BEIJING – A senior Chinese health official has expressed confidence that the country can prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections this winter if it maintains current precautions.
Feng Zijian, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told leading financial magazine Caixin that China “will most likely avoid” a new round of infections given current trends.
China has largely eliminated new local outbreaks by requiring masks indoors and on public transportation, requiring two-week quarantines for those entering the country, and completely banning some foreign travelers.
Authorities have moved quickly to address local outbreaks by tracing potential contacts, conducting widespread testing, and sometimes blocking entire communities.
While China was initially accused of suppressing information, its recent data has not been seriously questioned and local officials have moved quickly to reveal new cases. That has allowed the world’s second-largest economy to recover largely.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The Pacific nation of Vanuatu recorded its first case of coronavirus after a citizen who had been repatriated from the United States tested positive while in quarantine.
Vanuatu has been among the last countries to avoid the virus.
Health authorities say the 23-year-old was asymptomatic when he returned home on November 4. His infection was confirmed Tuesday after routine tests.
Officials say they plan to quarantine everyone on the same flight and trace the man’s close contacts, but do not plan to impose broader measures on the nation of 300,000 people.
