Covid-19: Amber watchlist idea dropped and tears at airport reunions
- Published
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Tuesday morning. We'll have another update for you this evening.
1. Amber watchlist travel idea dropped
A proposal to create an "amber watchlist" of countries at risk of moving to red in the travel traffic light system has been abandoned, government sources say. It had been touted as a way of preventing travellers to the UK being caught unawares by sudden rule changes requiring them to quarantine. But the airline industry has reacted with relief to the idea being dropped, having warned a complex system risked putting people off travelling.
2. Sturgeon to set out plans for lifting restrictions
Nicola Sturgeon is to set out plans for the lifting of most legal Covid-19 restrictions in Scotland later. The first minister has said she is hopeful of relaxing the rules further from 9 August. This could see physical distancing rules relaxed, the return of office working and larger crowds at events, although Ms Sturgeon says the use of face coverings will remain in place "for some time".
3. Kidney transplants cancelled amid staff shortage
Several life-saving kidney transplants within the Belfast Health Trust area could not go ahead at the weekend because not enough nurses were available to support surgeons. The trust, which turned down healthy donor kidneys, apologised and blamed the staff shortage on a rise in Covid-19 patients in hospitals. The Royal College of Surgeons says proposals it made to stop surgeries being cancelled have not been implemented.
4. Wuhan to test whole population as virus resurfaces
Long before coronavirus hit the UK's shores, Wuhan began making headlines as the epicentre of an outbreak of a troubling new virus. Now the Chinese city is to test its entire population of 11 million for Covid, after a handful of positive cases, including the first locally transmitted infections in more than a year. China is currently seeing one of its biggest outbreaks in months, with 300 cases detected in 10 days, and the government rolling out mass testing and lockdown restrictions.
5. Hugs and tears at Heathrow as families reunite
People who have been fully vaccinated in the US or European Union no longer have to automatically quarantine when arriving in the UK from amber list countries, excluding France. And it's led to some emotional scenes in airports for relatives who had been apart throughout the pandemic.
And don't forget...
Find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.
Hundreds of thousands of children in the UK will be offered a coronavirus vaccine. We explain who they are - and why the vast majority of under-18s are not eligible.
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