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- Travel to the US: When the UK ban could lift, and latest Covid rules
- What the latest travel announcement means for your autumn and winter holiday
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Your chances of being exposed to Covid-19 on a flight whereby every passenger has tested negative is less than 0.1 per cent, landmark research has shown.
The study, which has been running since December 2020 on transatlantic flights with Delta Air Lines, indicates that a single PCR test performed on all passengers within 72 hours of travel was enough to drastically reduce the risks of transmission on board.
The conclusion was that at a time when the average community infection rate was at 1.1 per cent, the rate onboard a flight was only 0.05 per cent when passengers had been screened for Covid in advance.
The airline’s chief health officer Dr Henry Ting stated: “When you couple the extremely low infection rate on board a Covid-19-tested flight with the layers of protection on board including mandatory masking and hospital-grade air filtration, the risk of transmission is less than one in one million between the United States and the United Kingdom, for example.
“These numbers will improve further as vaccination rates increase and new cases decrease worldwide.”
He added: “This real-world data – not simulation models – is what governments around the world can use as a blueprint for requiring vaccinations and testing instead of quarantines to re-open borders for international travel.”
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US still firmly under the command of coronavirus
Summer was supposed to mark America’s independence from Covid but it’s ending with the US firmly under the command of coronavirus, with deaths per day back up to levels in March.
The US recorded 26,800 deaths and more than 4.2 million infections in August. The number of monthly positive cases was the fourth-highest total since the start of the pandemic.
The US is averaging more than 150,000 new cases per day; levels not seen since January.
Deaths are close to 1,500 per day, up more than a third since late August. Overall, the outbreak is still well below the all-time peaks reached over the winter when deaths topped 3,400 a day and new cases at 250,000 per day.
The US death toll stands at more than 650,000, with one major forecast model projecting it will top 750,000 by December 1.
Christmas bookings for UK holiday rentals up 480% on last year
With 107 days left until Christmas, bookings for holiday rentals in the UK are already up 480 per cent compared to last year.
And prices are sky-rocketing. According to Guesty, the world’s leading property management platform, the average nightly rate for a Christmas rental in 2021 is already at £274, compared to £108 in 2020 and £190 in 2019.
Better get booking.
PCR testing still key to safe travel, Cignpost founder insists
Comment on news that PCR tests could no longer be required for some travellers as part of the October 1 review, Professor Denis Kinane, founding scientist of Cignpost ExpressTest, tells Telegraph Travel:
We believe that on one hand, this could be a positive step forward for anyone travelling abroad or visiting the UK. On the other hand, it is also critical that we remain vigilant in preventing new variants from coming into the UK.
During the spring, when the Delta variant entered the country, Cignpost saw a huge spike in positive results from those traveling into the UK from the Indian subcontinent – despite them having tested negative with a Lateral Flow test before boarding. The testing and border lapses then allowed the delta variant to flourish quickly.
While the news that travellers would still be required to take a pre-departure and day two test is welcome, there are some aspects of the existing system that should be changed. The fact that the test between 0 and 2 days, when people come to the UK is called a Day Two test is confusing – it actually leads to people delaying their PCR test until two days after their return to the UK.
This means that they many not receive their results until up to six days after their return from abroad. The solution we would recommend is to change the confusingly named ‘Day 2 test’ to a “Day-of-Arrival” test so that we can identify infections much faster – and so move more quickly if a new variant comes into the country.
It would also mean we could identify any potential new variants much quicker – and take action to prevent it spreading across the community.
‘I flew to the US during Covid – it’s clear the Briton ban should have been over a long time ago’
‘We’re welcoming American tourists, but the gesture hasn’t been reciprocated – my trip to Brooklyn proves there needs to be an end in sight,’ writes McKenna Grant:
As a dual British and American citizen, I am one of the few that is currently able to fly across the pond, and having recently done so, I cannot see the logic as to why Britons are not afforded the same privilege. After a grim 18 months, Britons are eager to visit – and after experiencing a US holiday firsthand in the age of Covid, it’s clear the red lights should be scrapped.
As I touched down at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, every single person I spotted was wearing a mask. Every single person. As I ordered an Uber from the airport, I was asked to confirm I had a face covering. The car offered sanitiser. Check, check, check. So far, so good. I felt safe.
Brooklyn was my first experience staying at a hotel during Covid. As I arrived at The Williamsburg Hotel, the little details put my mind at ease. Although not mandatory at the time in New York, the majority of guests wore masks in common areas like the lobby or elevator. As I slid the key into the door of my suite, it was spotless, even offering hand sanitiser.
Sydney prepares to let vaccinated out
Authorities will announce plans on Thursday to bring Sydney out of an extended lockdown, with fully vaccinated residents to be freed from stay-home orders by the end of October, local media reported.
New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian had initially pursued a Covid-zero strategy to quell an outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant that began in mid-June, but has since shifted to focusing on increasing inoculation rates.
Under the strategy to be announced on Thursday, Sydney residents will receive some freedom from movement restrictions when NSW reaches a 70pc vaccination rate, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Some areas of the state will have curbs lifted within days, while in Sydney, gyms, hairdressers, restaurants, cafes and pubs will be allowed to reopen at reduced capacities in the first stage of reopening, the newspaper said.
Credit:
Reuters
Scrap testing for double vaccinated travellers, urges former transport secretary
Testing for double vaccinated travellers should be scrapped, a former transport secretary has said, as research shows British passengers are paying double their air ticket prices on tests.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Lord McLoughlin, who was transport secretary for four years under David Cameron, said Britain’s more restrictive testing regime was putting the UK at a competitive disadvantage compared with other European nations.
For a British traveller to Spain it meant an extra £105 per person on PCR tests on their return to the UK, which was more than double the average ticket price of £95 for a couple.
Britain requires all holidaymakers to pay for a PCR test on or before day two after their arrival in the UK, irrespective of vaccination status or Covid risk in the country from which they are travelling.
By contrast, all other major EU nations have abandoned PCR tests for double jabbed holidaymakers, which has sparked a revival in air travel, said Lord McLoughlin in his first interview since taking over as chairman of Airlines UK, representing Britain’s air industry.
Japan extends restrictions to end of month
Japan said today that it will extend emergency Covid-19 restrictions in Tokyo and other regions until the end of this month to curb infections and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
The Government said it was too early to let down its guard.
Japan has been struggling with a fifth wave of the virus and last month extended its long-running curbs until September 12 to cover about 80 per cent of its population.
However, the number of severe cases and the strain on the medical system have not eased sufficiently in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow restrictions to be lifted.
The Government will extend the measures until September 30, including for Osaka, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said after meeting with an advisory panel, which ratified the plan.