|
 U.S. holiday travellers defy warnings
Millions of Americans appeared to be disregarding public health
warnings and travelling ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Although fewer in number than last year, people were flocking to
airports and highways against the advice of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the U.S. surgeon general and Dr. Anthony
Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert.
Some 1 million passengers passed through airport security gates on
Sunday, the highest number since March.
England to use testing to shorten quarantine
England will introduce a new system on Dec. 15 allowing passengers
arriving from high-risk countries to take a COVID-19 test after five
days of quarantine and to be released from any further
self-isolation if they test negative.
Airlines and other companies in the travel and tourism industries
had been calling for such a scheme for months, having suffered
devastating consequences from a 14-day quarantine rule that has
deterred people from travelling.
England's current lockdown bans most international travel but when
it ends on Dec. 2 people will be free to go abroad whatever
restrictions are imposed in their local area, transport minister
Grant Shapps said on Tuesday.
Germany to let up to 10 celebrate Christmas together
Germany's 16 federal states plan to allow gatherings of up to 10
people over Christmas and New Year, offering a relaxation of
restrictions to let families and friends celebrate together, a draft
proposal showed on Tuesday.
The premiers of the states are due to discuss their plans with
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday. Berlin mayor Michael Mueller
told ARD television he was confident the measures, agreed by the
leaders late on Monday, would be adopted.
[to top of second column] |
The premiers of two states also said there was broad agreement to extend a
national "lockdown light" until Dec. 20, to make family gatherings over
Christmas possible.
Australia opens up more borders
Australia will lift more internal state border restrictions in a boost for
tourism as new coronavirus infections slow to a trickle, while the first
vaccines could be available in March, a government minister said on Tuesday.
Queensland state, a popular holiday destination, will allow visitors next week
from the country's two most populous states, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria,
after closing its borders in August.
NSW has since notched a month without any COVID-19 cases where the source is
unknown and restrictions on arrivals from Sydney will be eased on Dec. 1,
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Russia's vaccine to be cheaper than rivals
Russia will charge less for its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine than rivals as Moscow
aims to produce more than 1 billion doses at home and abroad next year, the head
of Russia's sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday.
Details of the exact pricing are expected later on Tuesday, but Kirill Dmitriev,
head of Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, told Reuters that Sputnik V would
be priced significantly lower than other rivals with similar efficacy levels.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes, editing by Ed Osmond)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
