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(24.12.2021)
White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said on Twitter that the decision was recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Munoz said the temporary travel bans bought scientists necessary time to study the new virus variant and conclude that the current vaccinations are effective in blunting its impact.
Unvaccinated U.S. citizens and long-term residents will have to present a negative Covid test taken a day before re-entering the country.
29 September 2021
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the maritime, road and aviation industries have called loudly and clearly on governments to ensure the free movement of transport workers and to end travel bans and other restrictions that have had an enormously detrimental impact on their wellbeing and safety. Transport workers keep the world running and are vital for the free movement of products, including vaccines and PPE, but have been continually failed by governments and taken for granted by their officials.
Our calls have been consistent and clear: freedom of movement for transport workers, for governments to use protocols that have been endorsed by international bodies for each sector and to prioritise transport workers for vaccinations as called for in the World Health Organization’s SAGE Roadmap for Prioritizing Uses of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Context of Limited Supply.
Heads of government have failed to listen, to end the blame-shifting within and between governments and take the decisive and coordinated action needed to resolve this crisis.
(29.09.2021)
Seafarers, truck drivers and airline workers have endured quarantines, travel restrictions and complex Covid-19 vaccination and testing requirements to keep stretched supply chains moving during the pandemic.
But many are now reaching their breaking point, posing yet another threat to the badly tangled network of ports, container vessels and trucking companies that moves goods around the world.
BRITS can jet off for a hassle-free autumn in the sun after both the amber list and expensive PCR tests were SCRAPPED in the biggest travel boost of the pandemic so far.
In a huge win for holidaymakers ministers are also shrinking the red list – with popular destination Turkey among those declared Covid safe today.
Harmonization of digital vaccine standards is essential to support the safe and scalable restart of aviation, avoid unnecessary airport queues and ensure a smooth passenger experience.
Building on the EU DCC success, IATA has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to revisit its work to develop a global digital vaccine standard.
– Thousands planned French getaways after it came off UK’s ‚amber plus‘ travel list
– But they are facing chaos with Emmanuel Macron’s new Covid passport rules
– Proof of double jab has to be uploaded to French coronavirus smartphone app
– But people without smartphones could be refused entry to restaurants and bars
The pass, which is an extended version of the EU’s Covid-19 travel pass, comes into force on Monday, and is mandatory for access to public spaces such as bars and restaurants.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: „I think double vaccination, full vaccination, is going to be a feature for ever more and most countries, probably all countries, will require full vaccination in order for you to enter.”
He also warned youngsters they will be unable to travel if they do not get jabbed.
– Creation of extra travel alert has been opposed by Tory rebels and Rishi Sunak – who has written letter to PM
– Ministers signed off proposals last week to create ‚amber watch list‘ which could plunge holidays into chaos
– Travellers heading to the likes of Spain and Italy could see the countries suddenly move on to dreaded red list
– Whitehall source claims idea has now been shelved, amid opposition from Tory MPs and letter from Mr Sunak
Not only would the Government find it difficult to come up with sufficient hotel rooms but it would have a severe impact on the economy.
It would almost certainly disrupt trade links even if lorry drivers and vital supply routes for food and medicines were exempted, while tens of thousands of workers would have to self-isolate away from their businesses and employers for 10 days.
It sometimes seems as if someone wants to punish us for wanting to live normally again.
The „amber plus“ regime for those returning from France is on one level a trivial detail, hardly newsworthy when set against the magnificent fiasco of the British pingdemic.
Yet nothing quite so illustrates the bureaucratic incoherence of Britain’s post-vaccination policy as this lunatic quarantine rule for travellers.
Furthermore, it is slightly alarming to see the authorities deploy the coercive power of the state so breezily, in such a random fashion, and in violation of the known scientific data. Bad habits are being formed.
– Many Tory MPs are ‚horrified‘ by proposals to introduce mandatory passports
– They say it will create a ‚two-class society‘ and plan to block the plans
– Britons with both Covid-19 jabs can now add vaccine certificate to Apple Wallet
– ‚Get your NHS Covid Pass‘ section of the NHS App leads to ‚domestic‘ or ‚travel‘
– ‚Domestic‘ section will display name, date of birth and QR code confirming jabs
– ‚Travel‘ section has same information along with nine extra details for each dose
– Lib Dems: Government has ‚introduced Covid ID Cards by stealth onto phones‘
Consequentially, from July 1st onwards, only persons who have taken these EMA-approved vaccines can travel freely within the EU region. Any other vaccine, such as WHO-approved Covishield, manufactured by Serum Institute of India under license from Oxford-AstraZeneca, is not recognized by EMA. However, the EU has clarified that the “Green pass” is not a precondition to travel. Nevertheless, people vaccinated with Covishield in India and other countries where New Delhi has exported its vaccines, such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya, Mauritania and other African countries, might face specific issues while travelling within the EU
– EMA does not recognise the Covishield AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India
– This could cause issue for vaccinated Britons eagerly hoping to travel abroad
– Still a theoretical issue as so few European nations are on the ‚green‘ travel list
The EU’s passport scheme does not recognise batches of AstraZeneca that were made in India and given out in the UK.
The EU Digital Covid Certificate will allow people to travel safely across Europe by acting as a Covid passport.
Britons will soon be barred from entering Germany after the country’s Public Health Institute designated the UK as a virus variant area of concern.
From midnight on Sunday people travelling there from the UK may only enter the country if they are a German citizen or resident.
Spain will allow British travellers to enter the country without a negative PCR test from May 24, it has been announced today.
This will mean restriction-free entry from Monday even for unvaccinated Britons; though with Spain on the UK’s amber list, travellers will have to self-isolate upon their return.
(March 2019)
Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.
(March 2019)
Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.
The most extreme possibility being considered is a perimeter closure of the entire country to stop tourists taking trips abroad.
(02.03.2021)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: Moscow expects that the European Union’s plans to introduce vaccine passports won’t discriminate against Russian nationals.
Palau’s leader flew into Taiwan on Sunday (Mar 28) as the two coronavirus-free allies prepare to launch a travel corridor to boost their pandemic-hit tourist sectors.
On 27 January, the home secretary said going on holiday was “not a valid reason” to leave home during England’s coronavirus lockdown and added: “Anyone who does not have a valid reason for travel will be directed to return home or they will face a fine.”
The Home Office claimed that police could arrest people who remained intent on going on holiday after being stopped at an airport, saying: “Holiday travel is not allowed and police can fine anyone trying to do so, direct them to go home and, if necessary, use powers of arrest.”
(March 2019)
Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.
Channel 4 News presenter Matt Frei asked: „Is this all very political and does Ursula von der Leyen, as a German politician and member of Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU, is she now under pressure?
„Especially after the results of the regional elections on Sunday that she has to come out and take the gloves off.
„Is that what this is? Is it political?“
Ms Trillet-Lenoir replied: „I wouldn’t say so. I would say it’s a complicated explanation.
BBC’s Katya Adler insisted that Italy felt under pressure to suspend the rollout of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. While speaking on Newscast, she said despite its own advisors saying not to suspend the use of the vaccine, the Italian Government decided to plough ahead with the temporary ban. She claimed this was due to mounting pressure from their citizens with concerns due to bigger European nations Germany and France suspending the vaccine.
(15.03.2021)
Germany, Italy, France and Spain joined the ranks of European countries that have temporarily halted use of the Covid-19 shot made by AstraZeneca PLC over blood-clot concerns, dealing another blow to the continent’s sluggish vaccination rollout and threatening the credibility of the vaccine itself.
In a damning verdict, the judges noted that „Israel is the only democratic country in the world where the right of citizens to enter their country has been so sweepingly restricted.“
On the figure of 3,000, the judges stated that this was set by the government before they had gathered data on the number of nationals who were stuck abroad, and ordered any future restrictions to be based on updated and comprehensive facts.
(March 2019)
Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.
(18.02.2021)
New government and business initiatives are moving in the direction of a two-tier system for the vaccinated and unvaccinated, raising legal, moral and ethical questions.
(19.02.2021)
Findings of the pre-published study, not yet peer-reviewed, but based on a national database that is one of the world’s most advanced, were first reported by the Israeli news site Ynet late on Thursday and were obtained by Reuters on Friday.
Pfizer declined to comment and the Israeli Health Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
(19.02.2021)
Israel is preparing itself to be split in half from next week, with the government creating a new privileged tier in society: the vaccinated.
Green Pass venues include houses of worship, cultural events, gyms, hotels and swimming pools. To enter, those eligible to do so will be required to present valid ID and a so-called Green Pass, vaccination certificate, or official document stating they had the virus and recovered, as relevant.
The critical ‚Covid O‘ Cabinet sub-committee is expected to look at proposals for assembling a system that could loosen restrictions on international travel.
However, there are not expected to be any final decisions – and no date has been mooted for when the arrangements might come into force.
The EU decided Thursday to postpone the issuing of vaccination certificates to people immunized against COVID-19 and opted to strongly deter all unnecessary travel within the bloc and with third countries to curb the spread of the virus.
Leaders of the EU met via videoconference to discuss the novel coronavirus pandemic and vaccination efforts in member states.
Officials have been told to prepare to use facial-recognition and GPS technology in order to ensure people stay in isolation when they arrive in the country.
Passengers are being asked to complete online passenger locator forms to tell officials where they are staying after arriving in the UK.
But MPs have heard just one in 10 of the forms are checked by Border Force, while police officers told to visit addresses for potential breaches of quarantine simply walk away if no one answers – with no follow up investigation.
– Thousands of Britons will be offered vaccine passes in trial starting this month
– Passport will be issued as a free app which show if people have had Covid jab
– Government agency Innovate UK has pumped £75,000 into project so far
– Vaccines tsar Nadhim Zahawi has flip-flopped over controversial policy
It is expected to cause a scramble for return flights as around 100,000 Brits are currently away in hotspots such as Dubai and the Maldives.
Ministers agreed the strict measures last night amid growing pressure to tighten borders – but have not confirmed a start date, although it is expected to be next week.
(today)
A fourth case had been discovered in an Israeli who had not been abroad recently. The Health Ministry said they are investigating the case and will update accordingly.
„Over the past few days we are making a concerted effort to check that the mutation from Britain has not infiltrated [Israel]. Until several minutes ago, we had been optimistic, and now we are less optimistic,“ Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said.
(22.12.2020)
The coronavirus pandemic is dangerous enough on its own – but adding the considerations of a prime minister who is a criminal defendant trying to escape justice, the result is systematic disregard for the population
Germany has extended its ban on travellers arriving from the UK to 6 January, despite the EU telling countries to lift restrictions to allow essential journeys and minimise trade disruption.
– Truckers try to force their way past police guarding Port of Dover as hundreds leave cabs and walk along road
– Jeering and whistling with some shouting: ‚Open the border‘, ‚We just want to go home‘ and ‚F*** you, Boris!‘
– France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain
– Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours
– Deal now struck with France which means every driver must be tested for coronavirus using lateral flow tests
– Tensions also boiled over at Manston Airport, where truckers whose lorries are being held staged a protest
A group of drivers began booing and whistling police just after 8am this morning, before a small number started pushing officers in an apparent attempt to break through their lines.
UK and French governments have now reached a deal to reopen the border from Wednesday if the drivers test negative for COVID.
STRANDED truckers were ready to roll again last night after shamed French leader Emmanuel Macron was forced to reopen his country’s border with the UK.
He caved in after pressure from Britain and the EU to end a 48-hour blockade imposed amid fears over the new Covid strain.
The agreement requires every driver to have been tested for coronavirus, using controversial lateral flow tests, which are able to turn around results in under an hour but have had their effectiveness questioned.
Those who come back negative will be told by text message in as little as 20 minutes, and be given the green light to hit the road and head over to the continent, but positive cases will be sent to a hotel to isolate.
Von der Leyen spoke by telephone to Johnson on Monday night to discuss a way forward and further calls are expected in the next 24 hours, but the commission refused to offer details.
Barnier said as he went into a meeting with EU ambassadors: “We are really in the crucial moment. We are giving it the final push. In 10 days the UK will leave the single market and we continue to work in total transparency with the member states right now and with the parliament.”
The Nuffield Trust thinktank stated: “The perilously uncertain future facing the UK at the end of the Brexit transition period could put the UK’s health and care system at risk.”
The report said new migration rules, possible disruption to medicines and devices, an ongoing economic slowdown and barriers to science investment would hit the health sector.
The warning came as a negotiated Brexit deal looks increasingly unlikely and Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the new variant of coronavirus as being „out of control“.
– Port of Dover in Kent was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for the next 48 hours
– Hauliers coming to UK will still be allowed but there are fears drivers won’t travel to avoid being ‚marooned‘
– Countries including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Poland have announced restrictions on UK travel
– Comes after emergence of mutant strain of coronavirus in England which spreads quicker than predecessor
– PM Boris Johnson held a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee this afternoon to discuss travel ban
– Port of Dover later confirmed inbound freights were still arriving and France said movement would resume
– But Mr Johnson was unable to say exactly when the travel ban will be lifted as he expressed his frustrations
Responding to yesterday evening’s suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France, FDF CEO Ian Wright told Yahoo Finance UK: “Yesterday’s suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France has the potential to cause serious disruption to UK post-Christmas fresh food supplies – and exports of UK food and drink.
– France, Germany, Israel, El Salvador, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Turkey, Morocco, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Ireland have banned all flights from Britain
– Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the Government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee on Monday after a series of countries announced they were stopping flights from the UK, Downing Street has said
Following the announcement of a new three-tier lockdown system, which will see areas with higher Covid rates imposed with harsher measures, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) is leading a revolt against new rules that could see thousands of bars and restaurants ordered to close.
Two of the country’s biggest brewers and pub operators, Joseph Holt and JW Lees, are also involved in the challenge, alongside a further 10 hospitality businesses and organisations.
OVERNIGHT stays will be forbidden in northern virus hotspots for four weeks, Boris Johnson will announce today.
As well as the bed ban, residents can only leave the highest risk regions for essential travel such as work, education or health reasons, and must return that day.
A TSA official told CNN a draft public affairs guidance memo lays out the rationale for ending airport screenings, stating that of the 675,000 passengers screened at 15 airports, fewer than 15 have been identified as having COVID-19.
“I’m represented by counsel. I don’t talk to cops. You have no right to detain me.”
Cops are tough when they can hide behind each other, behind their guns, behind their badges, or behind qualified immunity. But they’re powerless when faced with the power of the Constitution. Know your rights.
The CDC’s updated travel guidance states that all returning travelers should social distance, wear a cloth face covering, wash their hands often and watch for symptoms. Notably, those are all basic measures the CDC has highlighted to Americans to follow since the beginning of the pandemic, regardless of whether traveling is involved.
Britain has also been added to the code orange list, but travellers will not have to quarantine on their return to the Netherlands. Travel advice to the UK has been tightened up as a warning, because the British have introduced quarantine requirements for people from the Netherlands, the foreign ministry said.
– From 4am onwards, all those arriving from France must quarantine for 14 days after spike in coronavirus cases
– The 11th-hour move sparked chaos for an estimated 500,000 Britons who were holidaying in France
– There are also fears that the new rules will cause thousands of children to miss the start of the school year
– Pupils who don’t return to UK by Tuesday night will be self-isolating at home when majority of schools go back
(02.05.2020)
The mayor of Nice has urged French PM Edouard Philippe to introduce new travel controls during the Covid-19 pandemic through “health passports” in the parts of France which border other countries.
A top U.S. health official urges personal sacrifices to avert a ‘worst-case scenario.’ Passengers returning from Europe are waiting hours at U.S. airports for health screening.
„This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history,“ the President said.
„I am confident that by counting and continuing to take these tough measures we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens and we will ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus.“
1.1.2020
Due to militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all public consular operations are suspended until further notice. All future appointments are cancelled. U.S. citizens are advised to not approach the Embassy. The U.S. Consulate General in Erbil is open for visa and American Citizen Services appointments.
Rep. Omar, I am also a naturalized U.S. citizen. I am an Israeli-American. I was born in Haifa, and my young parents, determined to study in the United States, took me and my sister to Los Angeles, where I was raised. At age 5, I helped my parents learn the Pledge of Allegiance when they took their oath of citizenship. Your experience speaks deeply to me as someone who feels at home in America and is proud of its traditions of welcoming the stranger, and who has an eye toward how the U.S. can use its power to lift others up, at home and abroad. I’m so sorry we won’t be able to meet because your travel was banned by the country that I now call home.
Tell Democrats in Congress to commit to not traveling to Israel until Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are allowed to enter by signing on to our petition right now.
Progressive champions like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Marc Pocan have already committed to not visiting Israel until all members of congress can visit — we need the rest of the Democrats in Congress to do the same.
Tlaib said in her humanitarian request that the visit may be her last chance to see her grandmother, adding that she would not promote boycotts of Israel while in the region.
„This could be my last opportunity to see her. I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit,” she wrote, according to The Guardian.
As for the principle that elected representatives of the American people should be able to travel where they like — the principle enunciated a few weeks ago by Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador in Washington — Mr. Trump has made his rejoinder clear: Principles are for suckers. How many dictators are rejoicing today that a U.S. president has given them full permission to bar members of Congress who in the future might want to visit their countries to monitor elections or speak up for human rights?
Most officials of mainstream American Jewish organizations have never been to the places Tlaib and Omar planned to go. They’ve never talked to Palestinians whose homes are about to be bulldozed because they lack the building permits that, as non-citizens under military rule, they can’t get. They’ve never heard Palestinian parents explain the terror they feel when Israeli soldiers come in the middle of the night to take their children to be interrogated, often for days, in the absence of a lawyer.
Make no mistake about it, while Trump’s motivation was in part political, it was also motivated by the racist animus that drives Trumpism in the U.S. and, as it happens, shapes the ethno-nationalist views of Netanyahu and his extreme-right wing supporters in Israel.
By enlisting a foreign power to take action against two American citizens, let alone elected members of Congress, Mr. Trump crossed a line that other presidents have not, in effect exporting his partisan battles beyond the country’s borders. And he demonstrated the lengths that he will go to to target his domestic opponents, in this case two of the congresswomen of color he has sought to make the face of the Democratic Party heading into his re-election campaign.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, widely seen as the Democratic Party’s primary frontrunner, condemned Israel’s move to ban the lawmakers‘ entry and took a shot at Trump for encouraging the country to do so.
„I have always been a stalwart supporter of Israel—a vital partner that shares our democratic values. No democracy should deny entry to visitors based on the content of their ideas—even ideas they strongly object to. And no leader of the free world should encourage them to do so,“ Biden tweeted.
Barring Congresswoman would greatly damage Israel’s relations with Democratic party, Israeli diplomats warn ■ Trump tweets allowing their visit is ‚great show of weakness‘
The spokesman did not specify when the decision was made or who made the final decision, but the announcement comes shortly after US President Donald Trump said Israel would be showing „great weakness“ by allowing them to enter the country.
US Congress ratified a bill in 2016 for 38 countries with US visa waivers to limit their travel to the US if they travel to Iran and a number of other countries…. Now that the decision has been implemented by the Iranian government, the citizens of these 38 countries can travel freely to Iran with no more concerns for traveling to the US.
Later the airport confirmed that 86 flights had been cancelled, arrivals as well as departures.