South African tourism is showing signs of recovery with the coastal city of Durban having 80 per cent occupancy at establishments and over 200,000 visitors during the festive season…reports Asian Lite News
“We desperately needed this development because we were bruised by the pandemic and multitudes of our people lost jobs. I am happy that following these figures, it means we are doing things right,” Xinhua news agency quoted Durban Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda as saying
S.Africa tourism shows signs of recovery
Kaunda said during this festive season restaurants and eateries in the townships and other destinations were full of tourists.
Over the Christmas weekend period alone, about 200,000 people visited the city, spending close to R150 million ($10 million).
What could be more romantic than an intimate picnic with your loved one on an award-winning beach? All that’s needed are the essentials: towels, food, and a trip to the beach!… report Asian Lite News.
Seychelles is not just recognised for its turquoise crystal waters, world-renowned beaches, or peaceful way of life, but it is also one of the world’s best romantic vacation destinations. Here is a list of the best romantic activities to do as a couple in Seychelles, ranging from indulging in decadent local food to unwinding in a well-deserved spa vacation!
Underwater Experience
It can be a sensory experience to go on an underwater journey in the deep blue sea. The island is home to a diverse range of marine species, and diving to the deepest depths of the Seychelles’ waters can reveal a breathtaking ecology. Another alternative for viewing the unmatched variety of fish and corals in a calm setting is glass bottom boats and semi submarines.
Local Cuisine
Seychelles has a diverse culinary heritage, with influences from India, China, and Africa. Because Seychelles is a melting pot, the country’s cuisine is brimming with tantalising flavours, brilliant colours, and aromatic fragrances. The island’s shores are lined with trendy eateries that combine gourmet creole cuisine with a beautiful outlook. Couples could try the pleasures of Creole cuisine, such as mouthwatering banana la daube to satisfy your sweet craving and smokey grilled fish to properly enjoy the local delicacies.
Beach Picnic
What could be more romantic than an intimate picnic with your loved one on an award-winning beach? All that’s needed are the essentials: towels, food, and a trip to the beach! Every inch of the island’s shoreline has a breathtaking view, so there are never any shortages of picnic locations. Rent a luxury picnic that is exclusively for you and your significant other to up the ante. Luxury picnics are ideal for honeymooners since they relieve you of any duties and allow you to fully immerse yourself in an exclusive experience.
Spa and Retreat Day
With a much-needed day at the spa, you can add a pinch of relaxation to your stay! A holistic vacation is exactly what the doctor ordered, and many packages include a premium spa session for couples to relax. Most hotels have couples massages that cater to everyone’s needs, from rejuvenating facials to full-body massages laced with local herbs and fruits. Seychelles’ flora and fauna are intricately intertwined with the island’s vibrations, amplifying their restorative properties.
Adventure Time
Adrenaline junkies, come together! Why not zip-line through the lush green forest canopy? There’s always more to discover on the island, so why not? The island is known for its tranquilly, yet couples that enjoy adventure will find Seychelles to be a paradise. Adventure seekers can kitesurf while overlooking a gorgeous backdrop during the windy season, and courageous newlyweds can even go horseback riding for a fairy tale atmosphere.
Sunset on the beach
Watching the sunset together will bring a bow to the end of your day. The north is the best place to see the sky change from beautiful blue to blazing amber. Nothing beats a leisurely stroll on the beach for a romantic evening.
The Indonesian government has allowed travellers from Hong Kong to enter the country ahead of year-end holidays…reports Asian Lite News
The Indonesian government has allowed travellers from Hong Kong to enter the country ahead of year-end holidays, while putting the UK, Norway and Denmark into the travel ban list, citing increasing cases of the Omicron Covid variant in the three countries.
Indonesia allows travellers from Hong Kong
With the new decision, Indonesia now has a total of 13 countries on its travel ban list including South Africa, Bostwana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, Malawi, Angola and Zambia, reports Xinhua news agency.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan told a press conference on Monday that the government could add more countries to the list depending on the development of the situation in Indonesia.
“We keep watching the situation and we do the weekly evaluation. We still have no idea about the details of the Omicron variant, although many researchers have found that it is more transmissible,” Pandjaitan said.
As of Monday, the country’s Health Ministry has confirmed three Omicron cases.
“We still urge that the public avoid travelling abroad if there is no essential purpose,” Pandjaitan said.
The government has decided to extend the restrictions on public activities, locally known as PPKM, outside Java and Bali from Friday to January 3, 2022, a senior minister said.
The measure was taken following the mechanism on the PPKM during the Christmas and New Year holidays based on the level of the pandemic assessment, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said at a virtual press conference in Jakarta on Monday.
Hartarto also said the number of daily cases outside Java and Bali for the last seven days has decreased by 98.9 per cent with a fatality rate of 3.12 per cent and a recovery rate of 96.71 per cent.
The number of coronavirus cases in the country has now risen to 4,260,677, as 133 new patients were recorded in the past 24 hours.
As many as 216 patients recovered from Covid-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,111,835, and 11 more people died of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 144,013.
Kuwait imposed new travel restrictions to contain the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, the country’s Centre for Government Communication said…reports Asian Lite News
According to a decision made by the Kuwaiti government on Monday, incoming passengers will be required to conduct a PCR test within 48 hours before arrival and take home quarantine for 10 days, while the decision is effective as of December 26, reports Xinhua news agency.
Kuwait tightens travel restrictions
In order to end the quarantine, they must conduct a PCR test after 72 hours of quarantine, the centre said on Twitter.
Starting from January 2, 2022, if nine months have passed since the second dose of vaccination, the person is considered not fully immunised and cannot travel unless he or she takes a booster dose of approved vaccines, it said.
Israel bans travel to ten more countries over Omicron scare
Israel’s Ministry of Health on Sunday said it decided to ban travel to ten more countries to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19…reports Asian Lite News
The ban will take effect on Wednesday and will include the United States, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland and Turkey, which will be labeled as “red” countries, Xinhua news agency reported citing the ministry.
Israel bans travel to ten more countries over Omicron scare
The list of “red” countries already includes most of the African countries, eight European countries and the United Arab Emirates.
All Israelis returning from the banned countries, including vaccinated and recovered ones, must enter quarantine for at least seven days.
Foreign nationals are not allowed to travel from these countries to Israel, except in humanitarian cases with the approval of a special governmental committee.
To date, the ministry has reported 134 cases of the Omicron variant, of which 86 are passengers who have recently returned from abroad.
The 11 countries which will be removed are Angola, Botswana, Eswantini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe…reports Asian Lite News.
The government will remove all 11 countries from its Covid-19 travel red list from Wednesday because there is now community transmission of Omicron in Britain, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told parliament.
The new Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong. The British government added 11 African countries to its red list from late November, meaning that only UK citizens or residents arriving from those nations were allowed in and then had to quarantine in a hotel.
“Now that there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad,” Javid said.
“We will be removing all 11 countries from the travel red list effective from 4 a.m. tomorrow morning.”
The 11 countries which will be removed are Angola, Botswana, Eswantini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Travel companies had urged the government to reduce restrictions as soon as possible. London’s Heathrow Airport said last week it was seeing high levels of business travellers cancelling due to concerns over restrictions.
Britain will still require all inbound travellers to take either a PCR or a rapid lateral flow test a maximum of 48 hours before departure, a measure Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said would be reviewed in the first week of January.
Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of travel association ABTA, welcomed the removal of the red list but said testing should also have been scrapped.
“With the testing measures now extending over the Christmas and New Year period, and the industry quickly approaching peak-booking season for summer 2022, travel businesses are facing a very serious situation,” he said in a statement.
“Consumer confidence in travel has suffered a significant setback, which will outlast these restrictions.”
Arrivals from the red list countries have had to pay thousands of pounds to quarantine in government-approved hotels. Many have complained on social media about the costs and conditions of their stay.
A lack of available rooms also left some people trapped abroad waiting for space to become available in the hotels.
Israel bans travel to UK, Denmark to prevent spread of Omicron
Israel has decided to ban travel to the UK and Denmark to prevent the spread of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant…reports Asian Lite News
The ban, to be effective on Thursday, was announced at a press conference by Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of the public health services at the Health Ministry, reports Xinhua news agency.
Israel has already banned travel to most African countries, which are labelled “red” by the Ministry because of the new coronavirus variant.
Israel bans travel to UK, Denmark to prevent spread of Omicron
All Israelis returning from the banned countries, including vaccinated and recovered ones, must quarantine for at least seven days.
Foreign nationals are not allowed to travel from these countries to Israel, except in humanitarian cases with the approval of a special governmental committee.
So far, 67 cases of Omicron have been detected in Israel, while the testing results of another 80 suspected ones are expected, according to the Ministry.
The Cuban government has tightened measures aimed at reducing the transmission of Covid-19 ahead of Christmas…reports Asian Lite News
With mask mandates and Covid-19 guidance in place, cultural activities have been scheduled all over the country for the end of the year, reports Xinhua news agency.
The move came as the Caribbean nation on Sunday added 62 new cases, bringing the national tally to 963,628, according to the Ministry of Public Health.
Cuba tightens Covid curbs before Christmas
There are 331 active Covid-19 cases on the island, 16 of them being in intensive care units.
According to the Ministry, Covid-19 infection rates per 100,000 inhabitants have steadily decreased across the country’s 15 provinces over the past two weeks.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel urged people to comply with the safety protocols to reduce the spread of the virus nationwide.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is under control but the virus is still around,” he said.
“Now, we have to rigorously continue implementing the (preventive) measures, because, otherwise, we would scupper the efforts made during the vaccination campaign in Cuba.”
Health authorities have confirmed a Cuban medical worker, who arrived on the island from Mozambique, as its first case of the Omicron variant.
All travellers flying into Cuba from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique are now required to show vaccination certificates and negative results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests taken within 72 hours of arrival.
Furthermore, the passengers are also required to take PCR tests on arrival and on the sixth day after arrival, as well as stay in quarantine hotels for a week at their own expense.
So far, 9.3 million people, or about 83.7 per cent of the island’s population, have been fully inoculated against Covid-19.
In addition, a booster vaccine drive is already underway in Havana, the country’s capital and most populous city with 2.2 million residents.
Israel bans travel to UK, Denmark to prevent spread of Omicron
Israel announced the extension of travel restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz decided that the current restrictions of banning foreigners from entering Israel will be extended to December 22, reports Xinhua news agency.
According to the Health Ministry, 35 Israelis have been tested positive for the Omicron variant, most of which are vaccinated.
Israel announce extension of travel restrictions
Meanwhile, Israelis returning from abroad will be quarantined for three days.
A statement released by the Prime Minister’s office also said more restrictions may be considered in the coming days.
In the past week, there has been a slight increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Israel.
AU calls for rescinding travel bans on African nations
Recent travel and entry bans are imposing an adverse impact on the economy which will negatively affect the lives and livelihoods of populations concerned…reports Asian Lite News
The African Union (AU) warned that travel and entry bans in connection with the emergence of the Omicron Covid-19 variant limit the free movement of people and goods, imposing immediate and significant impact on countries across the continent.
AU calls for rescinding travel bans on African nations
The 55-member pan African bloc, in a statement, called for the urgent rescinding of travel bans placed on African countries following the detection of the Omicron variant, reports Xinhua news agency.
“Current evidence, which underscores global spread and community transmission of the Omicron variant, does not support selective travel bans imposed on Southern African countries,” the statement said.
It added that penalising African countries for ensuring timely and transparent data dissemination in accordance with international health regulations acts as a disincentive for information sharing in the future, potentially posing a threat to health security on the continent and globally.
The AU stressed that recent travel and entry bans are imposing an adverse impact on the economy which will negatively affect the lives and livelihoods of populations concerned.
It further indicated that the travel ban created limited the capacity to access essential medical supplies needed to respond to the ongoing upsurge of cases.
The AU further strongly commended the effective genomic surveillance systems in South Africa and Botswana that have led to early detection of the Omicron variant on the continent, and applauded scientists and public health authorities in both member states for timely and transparent data sharing to alert the international community.
It acknowledged that more time and investigations are needed to adequately assess the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the Omicron variant.
Meanwhile, the AU underscored the urgent need to strengthen public health and social measures to mitigate the risk of infections.
