Topline
In an effort to control the spread of the more infectious variant of coronavirus that is driving another wave of Covid-19 cases across the country, U.K. ministers are preparing to announce new restrictions to international travel Tuesday to supplement existing lockdown measures that ban all but essential activities and travel for the foreseeable future.
The U.K. will announce tougher border restrictions Tuesday in a bid to control a recent surge in … [+]
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Key Facts
Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said the government would publish the new plans for border restrictions on Tuesday, which is the first day of England’s third Covid-19 lockdown.
“The message is very, very clear for U.K. citizens that they should not be traveling,” the minister said on Sky News.
It is unclear what the new restrictions will entail, though it is possible they will include Covid-19 testing of new arrivals — which ministers have long dismissed — as well as stricter quarantines and a ban on all foreign travel.
When the lockdown was first announced Monday, travel trade body ABTA urged the government to support the struggling sector that it says has not received any tailored government support.
“It’s right, of course, that the Government takes steps to control the spread of the virus,” the group said, “but this needs to come with the right measures to support travel businesses which have little or no means of operating.”
Key Background
In an effort to control a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, U.K. nations have imposed strict lockdown measures curtailing individual freedoms. Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a new lockdown in England on Monday barring all but essential activities outside the home, including shuttering schools and universities. Scotland issued similar stay at home orders, Wales has closed schools and Northern Ireland is expected to finalize harsher restrictions Tuesday. It is unclear when many of these restrictions will end, though politicians have said they shall likely be in place until at least the middle of February. Much of the new wave of Covid-19 is being driven by a contagious new variant, B.1.1.7., which was discovered in the south-east of England and London in December. While the new variant isn’t believed to be resistant to vaccines — manufacturers are testing this to make sure — or cause more severe illness, it is more infectious. This makes the virus harder to control and can overwhelm hospitals with an influx of cases.
Further Reading
Here’s What You Need To Know About England’s New Covid-19 Variant (Forbes)
England Will Go Into National Lockdown Amid Covid-19 Surge (Forbes)
UK to toughen COVID-19 border controls soon – Gove (Reuters)
