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LONDON: Singapore and Thailand were added to England’s list of COVID-19 travel corridors, the UK government said on Thursday (September 17).
Starting Saturday at 4am UK time, travelers from these countries will no longer have to isolate themselves for two weeks upon arrival in England.
The exemption applies to travelers from Singapore and Thailand as long as they have not been to or transited any other non-exempt country in the previous 14 days, said the Department of Transportation and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO ). .
Singapore and Thailand had already been exempted from the FCDO’s global warning against non-essential travel.
Singapore currently has cross-border travel agreements with China, Malaysia, Brunei, South Korea, and Japan, while talks are ongoing to establish such agreements with Hong Kong, Thailand, and Indonesia.
On Thursday, Singapore recorded its fewest COVID-19 cases in six months with 18 infections.
READ: COVID-19: Rigorous testing could help revive travel, but challenges remain, experts say
The UK government also announced that Slovenia and Guadeloupe had been removed from the exemption list after weekly case rates rose 102 percent and 558 percent, respectively. Travelers arriving in England from these locations after 4am on Saturday will need to self-isolate for two weeks.
“The government has consistently made it clear that it will take decisive action if necessary to contain the virus, including swiftly removing countries from the list of travel corridors if the risk to public health of people returning from a particular country without self-isolation it becomes too high, “he added. said.
The UK has been the worst hit country in Europe by the pandemic, with the government recording nearly 42,000 deaths.
The Office for National Statistics, which uses broader criteria to count deaths from COVID-19, has said that about 58,000 Britons have died from the virus.
The government imposed new rules in England on Monday to limit socialization to groups of six or fewer, as daily cases reach levels not seen since early May.
According to government statistics, a total of 18,371 people tested positive in England in the week to September 19, 75 percent more than the previous week.
READ: WHO Europe warns of ‘alarming’ COVID-19 transmission rates
NEW SOCIAL RESTRICTIONS IN NORTHEAST ENGLAND
More than two million people in the northeast of England face new restrictions due to an increase in coronavirus cases, the government announced Thursday, as it struggled to contain a possible second wave of infection.
The stricter socialization regulations will take effect from Friday in Northumberland, North and South Tyneside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gateshead and County Durham.
Residents will be prohibited from socializing in homes or gardens with people outside their home, while food and drink venues will be restricted to table service only.
Pubs and bars should close early at 10pm.
“We do not make these decisions lightly,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament, acknowledging that they would have a “real impact on families, businesses and communities.”
But he added: “We must follow the data and act, and the data says we must act now.”
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