by Summary for Saturday, 8th May
Welcome to today’s coronavirus live page. Here are the main headlines so far:
Saturday's UK papers are dominated by politics, after a bumper set of local and national elections across England, Scotland and Wales.
But many front pages also focus on the government announcement of the foreign travel green list – the 12 countries where people in England will be permitted to travel without needing to self-isolate on return, from 17 May.
Read more.
Countries are in three categories - green, amber and red - determined by their level of coronavirus risk. Green countries have the fewest rules.
Portugal and Israel are among the permitted destinations on the government's green list, which tourists will be able to visit without having to quarantine on their return.
The 12 countries and territories on the green list are:
But what happens if you want to visit one of the countries on the amber list? Read on.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the traffic light system, which sees countries categorised as red, amber and green, at a press briefing on Friday.
The 12 green list countries, which include Portugal, Gibraltar and Israel, will not require people to quarantine on return to England.
France, Greece, Italy and Spain, normally hugely popular holiday destinations for UK travellers, are not included on the safe list – and fall into the amber category.
So too the US, despite a rapid rollout of vaccinations there.
Travel to amber or red list countries is not advised.
Both holiday company Tui and airline Virgin Atlantic described the green list as “overly cautious”, while Easyjet’s Johan Lundgren said the decision to put so few European countries on the green list was “simply not justified by the data”.
But Shapps said the easing of restrictions was "necessarily cautious" in the light of the threat from new variants of Covid-19.
He added the lists would be reviewed every three weeks by the Joint Biosecurity Centre.
Read more.
- Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has outlined England's new summer travel rules
- Twelve countries and territories including Portugal, Israel and Gibraltar are on the green list of destinations
- People returning from those places will not have to quarantine
- The travel industry has expressed disappointment in the limited green list, calling it 'a missed opportunity'
- There have been a further 15 deaths and 2,490 new cases in the UK, according to government data
- The EU has agreed to purchase 900 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, with the option for 900 million more
- EU leaders are to talk to Indian PM Narendra Modi after he called for Covid vaccine patents to be waived
- Pakistan has declared an eight-day partial lockdown ahead of the celebration of Eid al-Fitr next week
- India has reported, for the first time, more than 4,000 deaths in one day from the Covid virus
- The World Health Organization has granted emergency approval for the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine
Welcome to today’s coronavirus live page. Here are the main headlines so far:
- The travel industry has expressed disappointment that so few countries are on the UK government's green list, with quarantine-free travel permitted to just 12 countries, from 17 May
- India has reported, for the first time, more than 4,000 deaths in one day from the Covid virus. Experts say the actual number of people dying daily is likely to be much higher
- The World Health Organization has granted emergency approval for the Covid vaccine made by Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm - the first vaccine developed by a non-Western country to get WHO backing
- In the Philippines, a second surge in Covid-19 cases is putting renewed pressure on the healthcare system. Fewer than 1% of the population are fully vaccinated and many people are going hungry amid a tough lockdown
- Most adults in the UK under the age of 40 will be given an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because of a link to rare blood clots
What the papers say
Saturday's UK papers are dominated by politics, after a bumper set of local and national elections across England, Scotland and Wales.
But many front pages also focus on the government announcement of the foreign travel green list – the 12 countries where people in England will be permitted to travel without needing to self-isolate on return, from 17 May.
- It is fair to say the Daily Star is disappointed by the 12 destinations named on the government list, which includes Portugal, Malta and the Falklands.
- The Guardian points out that South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands - which also made the list - are only accessible by sea and there is no visitor accommodation.
- The Daily Mirror speaks of "joy" that Portugal got the green light, and says a "holidays scramble" is under way as people rush to book.
- But there is disappointment that holiday hotspots such as France, Spain and Greece have been left out.
- And the Daily Telegraph has a front page story about the expected delays at UK airports, as the holiday season kicks off later this month.
Read more.
Which countries are on the green list for foreign holidays?
From 17 May, people in England will be allowed to take holidays abroad in a small number of countries.Countries are in three categories - green, amber and red - determined by their level of coronavirus risk. Green countries have the fewest rules.
Portugal and Israel are among the permitted destinations on the government's green list, which tourists will be able to visit without having to quarantine on their return.
The 12 countries and territories on the green list are:
- Portugal
- Israel
- Singapore
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Brunei
- Iceland
- Gibraltar
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands
- St Helena, Tristan de Cunha and Ascension Island
But what happens if you want to visit one of the countries on the amber list? Read on.
Travel firms reject 'overly cautious' green list
The travel industry has accused the UK government of "a missed opportunity" after it announced its long-anticipated green list for travel overseas from 17 May.Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the traffic light system, which sees countries categorised as red, amber and green, at a press briefing on Friday.
The 12 green list countries, which include Portugal, Gibraltar and Israel, will not require people to quarantine on return to England.
France, Greece, Italy and Spain, normally hugely popular holiday destinations for UK travellers, are not included on the safe list – and fall into the amber category.
So too the US, despite a rapid rollout of vaccinations there.
Travel to amber or red list countries is not advised.
Both holiday company Tui and airline Virgin Atlantic described the green list as “overly cautious”, while Easyjet’s Johan Lundgren said the decision to put so few European countries on the green list was “simply not justified by the data”.
But Shapps said the easing of restrictions was "necessarily cautious" in the light of the threat from new variants of Covid-19.
He added the lists would be reviewed every three weeks by the Joint Biosecurity Centre.
Read more.
by 
61-BLUES
