Tag Archives: Britain

Politico Europe reports: People must stop socializing in each other’s homes for several weeks under new pandemic restrictions announced Wednesday by the Irish government. The Cabinet took action in emergency session after public health chiefs warned that the rate of COVID-19 infections was growing much faster than during the first and second waves. Some measures, while immediately intended to discourage …

Reuters reports: The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was in the process of applying for a French passport to maintain his ties with the European Union after Brexit. Stanley Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament who voted Remain in Britain’s 2016 referendum, told RTL radio he wanted to become a French citizen …

The Associated Press reports: The British government on Wednesday extended its toughest coronavirus restrictions to more than three-quarters of England’s population, saying a fast-spreading new variant of the virus has reached most of the country. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that at midnight the government’s top infection-warning level, Tier 4, would be expanded beyond London and the southeast to cover …

NPR reports: Health officials in the U.K. authorized the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, giving the nation a second option for inoculation against the coronavirus. The government will begin rolling out the inexpensive and easy-to-store vaccine beginning Monday. It has ordered 100 million doses — enough to vaccinate 50 million residents, or three-quarters of the country’s population. The government has …

The Denver Post reports: Colorado public health officials on Tuesday confirmed the presence of the new variant of COVID-19 first discovered in the United Kingdom, saying the state is the first to identify the strain in the United States. The variant is believed to be as much as 70% more contagious, but not more severe in symptoms, than previous strains …

The Guardian reports: The UK has recorded a dramatic jump to more than 53,000 Covid-19 cases – its biggest ever daily case count, one day after it crossed 40,000 cases for the first time. Cases have been on the rise as the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus makes its presence felt. The UK recorded 53,135 new daily infections, as well …

The Guardian reports: British scientists are trialing a new drug that could prevent someone who has been exposed to coronavirus from going on to develop the disease Covid-19, which experts say could save many lives. The antibody therapy would confer instant immunity against the disease and could be given as an emergency treatment to hospital inpatients and care home residents …

The Washington Post reports: In one of Queen Elizabeth II’s most memorable speeches, she referred to the year of 1992 as an “annus horribilis,” a Latin term for horrible year. During her televised Christmas broadcast last year, she described 2019 as “quite bumpy,” after a string of tumultuous events that shook Britain and the monarchy. While the queen has not …

Reuters reports: More than 4,500 lorries, among a huge backlog of trucks stranded for days in the British port of Dover, crossed the Channel on Friday after extra troops were deployed to step up coronavirus testing, a minister said. Ferry services between Dover and the French port of Calais resumed on Thursday, ending a blockade France had imposed for several …

USA Today reports: The United States will require air passengers traveling from the United Kingdom to provide a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of departure, the CDC  announced late Thursday. The move comes as a growing number of countries banned British travelers amid the rapid spread of a new variant of coronavirus in London and elsewhere. Earlier this week, …

The Independent reports: Boris Johnson has confirmed that UK and EU negotiators have finally agreed a Brexit trade deal, just eight days before the transition period was due to end – in a historic move for Britain. It follows a press conference given by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and former chief negotiator Michel Barnier just moments ago …

The Associated Press reports: Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides next week. Trade will change regardless come Jan. 1, when the U.K. leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union. But …

The BBC reports: Germany’s Lufthansa is airlifting fresh fruit and vegetables to the UK on Wednesday as firms seek to beat the lorry chaos at sea ports. The airline said it is carrying 80 tonnes of food from Frankfurt to Doncaster Sheffield Airport for grocers including Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Almost 3,000 lorries remain stuck in Kent despite moves to re-start …

The New York Daily News reports: Gov. Cuomo is calling on New York hospitals and labs to specifically test for a new highly contagious COVID mutation found in the United Kingdom. The governor, who a day earlier worked out a deal with airlines requiring travelers from England report a negative coronavirus test before flying to the Empire State, said he …

Reuters reports: Britain formally left the European Union on Jan. 31 after its 2016 referendum, busince then it has been in a transition period under which rules on free travel and trade remain unchanged. That period ends on Dec. 31. Fourteen European countries, including Portugal and Spain, will grant Britons arriving before Dec. 31 the right to five years of …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The U.K. was braced for potential food shortages and disruption to manufacturing Monday if France continued a ban on freight as well as people traveling from Britain in an effort to stop the spread of a new strain of the coronavirus. The move to bar entry from the U.K., announced by Paris late Sunday, cuts …

The New York Post reports: Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday called it “reprehensible” and “grossly negligent” to allow UK travelers to fly into JFK Airport without being tested despite a contagious new mutation of the coronavirus shutting down London. “Right now, this variant in the UK is getting on a plane and flying to JFK,” Cuomo said in a call …

CBC News reports: Canada joined several European nations by halting flights from the U.K. on Sunday in an effort to prevent a new, potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus from spreading to this country. CBC News obtained a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by Transport Canada stating that all commercial, private and charter flights transporting passengers from the U.K. …

Politico Europe reports: EU countries are moving to halt travel from the United Kingdom over concerns about a new, infectious strain of the coronavirus. The Netherlands announced a flight ban Sunday from the U.K. while Belgium will impose a 24-hour stop on all travel from Britain to Belgium. Italy’s Foreign Affairs Minister Luigi Di Maio also said Sunday that in …

The Guardian reports: Police will be asked to block families from driving out of tier 4 areas and extra officers will be deployed at railway stations to clampdown on non-essential journeys, it has been announced, following crowded scenes at transport hubs in the capital. The new tier 4 measures imposed from Sunday in London and the south-east indefinitely prohibit non-essential …