Israel shortens Covid quarantine to ease economy going
Israel has shortened quarantine for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients to ease the pressure on the economy, government officials have said…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horwitz decided to cut the mandatory isolation period for asymptomatic patients from seven to five days, the PM’s office and health ministry said in separate statements, Xinhua news agency reported.
The decision will take effect starting from Wednesday, said the statements’.
“Israel is now facing the highest morbidity of the Omicron wave,” Bennett said, warning the pandemic is “placing heavy pressure on the economy.”
The Prime Minister added that the shortened isolation will “enable us to continue safeguarding public health and to keep the economy going at the same time.”
It is the second time the Israeli government decided to reduce the quarantine time, which had been cut from 10 days to seven last week.
According to new rules, passengers from the UAE have to carry a fresh RT-PCR test report even if they have taken booster shots….reports Asian Lite News
A Kerala diaspora organisation in the UAE will stage a day-long protest before the state Secretariat here on Saturday against the manner in which passsengers from the Gulf country are being treated by both the Centre and state with all arriving international passengers being asked to undergo a week’s compulsory quarantine.
INCAS Youth Wing is angry because those who arrive especially from the UAE are those who have taken even the booster dose of the vaccines besides they have to carry a fresh RT-PCR test report too.
Kerala
“Look what’s happening here, party meetings are being held throwing all Covid protocols to the wind and the irresponsible handling of the Health Department has led to the Covid spread and the hapless diaspora is being taken to task… this is nothing but declaring war on the diaspora, who often at good times are being referred to as the backbone of the state,” said a protester.
“It’s strange and rather unfortunate that whenever there is a spike in cases, the diaspora is the first to be taxed and this is done by the respective governments to just show some action has been taken to tackle Covid. We want this indifference shown towards us to end and hence we are expressing our displeasure by staging a protest here,” added an office-bearers of the organisation.
Kerala in the past few days has seen a massive daily increase of fresh Covid cases.
Israel shortens quarantine period for people tested Covid positive
The Israeli Health Ministry has announced in a statement the shortening of the required quarantine period for people tested positive for Covid-19…reports Asian Lite News
Nachman Ash, the Ministry’s Director General, thus decided that the quarantine period would be shortened from 10 to seven days, under the condition that no symptoms appeared in the last three days of quarantine.
In recent weeks, the Ministry has conducted culture tests among 80 Omicron patients, and found that the chance of growing a live virus after seven days of illness is only 6 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Ministry noted that the new rule will take effect on Thursday.
“We will not oblige quarantine beyond what is necessary, to maintain health, and also the economy, education and culture, keeping life routine as much as possible,” said Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz.
Travellers coming from countries other than the list of risk countries will also undergo home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake an RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India…reports Asian Lite News
India on Friday revised the existing guidelines for all international arrivals in India in view of the rising Covid cases and the Omicron threat, to make seven days home quarantine mandatory.
COVID19 | All international arrivals to undergo 7-day mandatory home quarantine: Government of India pic.twitter.com/XR7nHcmr9T
The new guidelines will be effective from January 11 till further notice.
Travellers coming from specified countries at risk will have to undergo home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake an RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India, as per the guidelines. These travellers will have to submit samples for the post-arrival Covid-19 test at the point of arrival (self-paid). Such travellers will be required to wait for their test results at the arrival airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight. If they tested negative, they will follow home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake another RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India.
The Centre on Friday issued a revised guideline for international passengers amid the exponential rise of #Omicron cases making 7-day home #quarantine mandatory for all those coming from abroad.
The travellers shall also be required to upload results of repeat RT-PCR test for Covid-19 done on the 8th day on the Air Suvidha portal. If negative, they will further self-monitor their health for the next 7 days. However, if such travellers are tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at the INSACOG laboratory network, as per the new guidelines.
Travellers coming from countries other than the list of risk countries will also undergo home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake an RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India. They will have to upload results of repeat RT-PCR test on the Air Suvidha portal and If found negative, they will further self-monitor their health for the next 7 days.
The guidelines said that all travellers should submit complete and factual information in a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before their scheduled travel, including travel details of the last 14 days. They need to upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report. The test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey.
The passengers coming from or travelling to at-risk countries shall be informed by the airlines that they will undergo post-arrival testing. They will be quarantined if tested negative and will be subjected to stringent isolation protocols if tested positive, as per the new guidelines.
Some residents under quarantine in the Chinese city of Xi’an have resorted to bartering supplies in recent days, as worries of food shortages continue…reports Asian Lite News
Posts on social media show residents swapping supplies and even tech gadgets in exchange for food, the report said.
In the wake of a latest Covid-19 resurgence, about 13 million have been confined to their homes since December 23, 2021, and presently cannot leave to buy food.
In recent days many have taken to social media with numerous complaints.
Authorities have been providing free food to households, but some have said their supplies are running low or that they had yet to receive aid.
Videos and photos on social media site Weibo showed people exchanging cigarettes for cabbage, dishwashing liquid for apples, and sanitary pads for a small pile of vegetables, the report said.
One video showed a resident appearing to trade his Nintendo Switch console for a packet of instant noodles and two steamed buns.
“Helpless citizens have arrived at the era of bartering – potatoes are exchanged for cotton swabs,” one Weibo user said, while another described it as a “return to primitive society”.
Xi’an is at the epicentre of China’s current Covid outbreak, and local authorities have enacted drastic measures which have attracted significant criticism online.
On Tuesday, authorities moved to put a second city into full lockdown after the detection of three asymptomatic cases.
Around 1.1 million residents in Yuzhou, a city located 500 km away from Xi’an, will now have to stay in their homes.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar held talks and agreed to facilitate travel between the two nations, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
The Government of India will issue fresh guidelines for foreign nationals from the UK after the British government ordered to discontinue mandatory COVID-19 norms for those vaccinated with Covishield and travelling from India to the UK, sources said on Friday.
“Ministry of Health is going to issue fresh guidelines for foreign nationals from the UK after the country ordered to discontinue mandatory testing and quarantine norms for those vaccinated with Covishield travelling from India to the UK,” sources said.
This comes a day after the UK government announced that no quarantine will be required for vaccinated Indian travellers.
British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, on Thursday, said that there would be no quarantine required for fully vaccinated Indian travellers in the UK from October 11, thereby ending the row over what New Delhi described as “discriminatory” travel rules by London.
Earlier on Friday, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his UK counterpart Liz Truss held talks and agreed to facilitate travel between the two nations.
Eligible travellers vaccinated in over 47 new countries and territories including Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Turkey will also be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents, so long as they have not visited a red list country or territory in the duration of 10 days before arriving in England.
Ellis also thanked the Indian government for cooperation over last month.
Last month, London announced the new rules making it mandatory for a 10-day quarantine and RT-PCR test even for fully vaccinated Indians travelling to the UK.
Enraged by the move, India in retaliation has imposed reciprocal measures for UK citizens travelling to India since October 4.
Earlier on Friday, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his UK counterpart Liz Truss held talks and agreed to facilitate travel between the two nations. “Good to talk to UK Foreign Secretary @trussliz. Agreed to facilitate travel between our two countries. This will help to implement the Roadmap 2030,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Meanwhile, another 36,060 people in the UK have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,081,300, according to official figures released Friday.
The country also recorded another 127 coronavirus-related deaths, Xinhua news agency reported. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the UK now stands at 137,541. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
There are currently 6,763 patients in hospital with Covid-19.
The data came as the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is lifting restrictive Covid travel advice for a further 51 countries and territories. Destinations that are having the “all but essential travel” advice lifted include former amber list nations.
With the advice lifted, people will be able to get travel insurance again for those countries as most insurers use it as a reference point to exclude cover. The number of countries on the travel red list has been slashed to just seven on Thursday. The destinations that remain on the red list are Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti and Dominican Republic.
More than 85 per cent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 78 per cent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
As the UK has now eased the travel restrictions for vaccinated Indians to the UK, India may also take steps to reciprocate and ease the present restrictions imposed on UK travellers to India, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
Indians fully vaccinated with Covishield or any other UK-approved vaccine travelling to the UK will not have to undergo quarantine from Monday (October 11), British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, said on Thursday.
Ellis tweeted, “No quarantine for Indian travellers to United Kingdom fully vaccinated with Covishield or other UK-approved vaccine from October 11. Thanks to Indian government for close cooperation over last month.”
The UK travel advisory had made 10-day quarantine mandatory for Indian travellers, who have received both doses of Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
However, after facing criticism for different quarters, the UK travel advisory has accommodated Covishield as an approved vaccine in the UK.
The new travel advisory that was implemented on October 4 said, “Formulations of the listed vaccines — Astra Zeneca Covishield, Astra Zeneca Vaxzevira and Moderna Takeda — qualify as approved vaccines.”
The government has extended inbound vaccinated arrivals system to a further 37 countries and territories across the globe including India, South Africa and Turkey, meaning eligible vaccinated passengers arriving from rest of world countries only need to take a day 2 test in England.
“From 4am Monday 11 October, eligible travellers vaccinated in over 37 new countries and territories including Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey, will also be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents, so long as they have not visited a red list country or territory in the 10 days before arriving in England,” the government said in a press release.
In response to the UK quarantine rules for Indians, India also imposed a 10-day mandatory quarantine for UK nationals arriving in India from October 4 onwards.
The move came as a reciprocity of the UK’s decision that people vaccinated with Covishield in India will have to meet the strict mandatory quarantine rules while visiting the UK.
“The measures announced today mark the next step as we continue to open up travel and provide stability for passengers and industry while remaining on track to keep travel open for good,” Britain’s Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, tweeted.
The British High Commissioner to India also thanked the Indian government for cooperation over last month. As the UK has now eased the travel restrictions for vaccinated Indians to the UK, India may also take steps to reciprocate and ease the present restrictions imposed on UK travellers to India.
Meanwhile, Shapps said restoring people’s confidence in travel is key to rebuilding our economy and levelling up this country.
No quarantine for Indian 🇮🇳 travellers to UK 🇬🇧 fully vaccinated with Covishield or another UK-approved vaccine from 11 October.
“With half-term and winter sun around the corner, we’re making it easier for families and loved ones to reunite, by significantly cutting the number of destinations on the red list, thanks in part to the increased vaccination efforts around the globe,” he said.
“With less restrictions and more people traveling, we can all continue to move safely forward together along our pathway to recovery,” he added.
From late October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers including under 18s returning from a rest of world country will have the option to replace their day 2 test with a cheaper lateral flow test, followed by a free PCR test if positive, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England.
The government can also confirm passengers taking postal tests will be able to send a picture of their lateral flow test as a minimum requirement to verify the test result, with the ambition remaining to have this in place for people returning from half-term breaks by the end of the month.
The government also confirmed passengers will be able to send a picture of their lateral flow test as a minimum requirement to verify test result accuracy and keep prices down once Day 2 tests switch to lateral flow later this month, followed by a free PCR if positive.
A discussion on the isolation exemption is likely to be held at the Covid Operations meeting which will reportedly be held today, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
The UK government ministers are planning to allow fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and US to avoid quarantine when they arrive in England.
A review of the rules is due by 31 July – the second date in the Department for Transport’s plan for a safe return to international travel, the BBC reported.
Citing sources, the BBC said the isolation exemption was likely to be discussed at the Covid Operations meeting which will be held today. But they said a decision on whether to proceed will not necessarily be taken.
Downing Street and the Department for Transport declined to comment on newspaper reports the government would go ahead with the plan.
But the aviation industry has been pushing for a relaxation of quarantine rules for travellers from the EU and US after completing a trial of checking the vaccination status of passengers.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Heathrow Airport wanted to demonstrate that vaccination status could be checked away from the border and allow safe entry to the UK from countries on the amber list, it was reported.
The vast majority of countries, including the US and many European countries including Spain, Italy and Germany, are on the amber list. Adults who have been fully vaccinated in the UK, and under-18s, no longer have to self-isolate after visiting any amber country apart from France.
But anyone who was fully vaccinated outside the UK still has to quarantine for 10 days on arrival, or pay for the test-to-release scheme to shorten their quarantine. Meanwhile, UK has reported another 23,511 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,745,526, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
The number of new cases in the country has continued to fall for a seventh day. The country also recorded another 131 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest number of daily deaths since March 17. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 129,303. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
The latest data came as workplace daily contact testing sites will be expanded to a total of 2,000 sites across the country, with prisons, waste collection and defence among the critical sectors prioritized for the newest sites, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the British government.
Daily contact testing using rapid lateral flow tests will enable eligible workers who have received alerts from the NHS (National Health Service) Covid-19 app or have been called by NHS Test and Trace and told they are a contact and to isolate, to continue working if they test negative each day.
The Ministry said that the visitors are those coming from countries not included in the travel suspension…reports Asian Lite News
Saudi Arabia will impose institutional quarantine on inbound travellers starting from May 20 onwards, the Ministry of Interior announced.
The Ministry said on Monday that the passengers are those coming from countries not included in the travel suspension, reports Xinhua news agency.
The decision comes in line with the efforts to curb the spread of the Covid-19 and is based on recommendations by the competent health authorities, the Ministry said.
Some categories of passengers will be excluded from the quarantine, including citizens and their spouses and children, along with passengers who received Covid-19 vaccine and official delegations; holders of a diplomatic visa, diplomats and their families residing with them.
The excluded categories, except for the vaccinated individuals, will be required to apply house quarantine, with an emphasis on the need to obtain a valid health insurance policy to cover the risks of the coronavirus.
Saudi Arabia announced last week the full opening of all its borders on May 17 after they were partially closed for months.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced on Monday the registration of 986 coronavirus cases, bringing the accumulated cases to 427,370.
The recoveries rose to 410,816, while the death toll increased to 7,085.
A man wearing a face mask cycles past the Francis Crick Institute Vaccination Centre in London,UK , Britain, March 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Yan/IANS)
Currently, these people are required to quarantine at home for 10 days but the measure could be scrapped if a trial in England, which gives daily lateral flow tests to as many as 40,000 people, is successful…reports Asian Lite News
Daily lateral flow tests could be used as a way to prevent home-isolation in the UK for those who have been in contact with someone tested positive for coronavirus, British media reported.
Currently, these people are required to quarantine at home for 10 days but the measure could be scrapped if a trial in England, which gives daily lateral flow tests to as many as 40,000 people, is successful, Xinhua news agency quoted a Sky News report as saying on Sunday.
“This new pilot could help shift the dial in our favour by offering a viable alternative to self-isolation for people who are contacts of positive Covid-19 cases, and one that would allow people to carry on going to work and living their lives,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The trial will begin on May 9 and close contacts of people with coronavirus will be contacted by phone and sent seven days of the tests if they decide to participate in the study.
They will have to test themselves every morning for seven days and will be exempt from the home isolation rule every day they test negative, as long as they do not show any symptoms of coronavirus.
Lateral flow tests give results in about 30 minutes but are considered less sensitive than PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, whose results usually return in 24 hours or so, according to the BBC.
More than 34.3 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, the UK is “still not out of the woods” amid concerns over new variants, particularly those first emerged in South Africa, Brazil and India, and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.
