Members of the public receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at Lichfield Cathedral, in Staffordshire, England, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. The U.K. is ramping up its mass vaccination program as the government seeks to protect the country's oldest and most vulnerable residents before easing a third national lockdown. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) - The U.K. is toughening up its entry requirements beyond its surprise decision to ban travel from South America and Portugal in the face of a new virus variant in Brazil, arguing that the measures are needed to ensure Britain's fast-moving vaccination program isn't derailed.
Prime Minister Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that remaining travel corridors are to be shut and everyone arriving in the U.K. will have to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Under the travel corridor arrangements, anyone arriving in the U.K. from countries deemed to be safe was exempt from a period of quarantine.
From Monday, Johnson said, everyone arriving in the U.K. will have to show evidence of a negative test taken 72 hours before departure. And once in Britain, travelers will have to self-isolate for ten days unless they can show evidence of a further negative test at least five days after their arrival.
The scrapping of the travel corridors came after the government banned travel from South America and Portugal amid concerns over the Brazil variant, which authorities have said has yet to appear in the U.K. Portugal has been particularly aghast at the ban, which the British government said was justified because of its strong links with Brazil.
'œAt this crucial stage, what we can't have is new variants with unknown qualities coming in from abroad and that's why we've set up the system to stop arrivals from places where there are new variants of concern and set up the extra tough measures,'ť Johnson told a press briefing.
The new restrictions come just a few weeks after many countries banned travel from the U.K. following the discovery in England of another, more contagious variant of the virus that has been blamed for a sharp rise in infections and deaths. Scientists have said there is no indication the U.K. variant reacts any differently to coronavirus vaccines.
The U.K. is ramping up its mass vaccination program to the country's oldest and most vulnerable residents. According to government figures on Friday, a little more than 3.2 million people, or around 5% of the population, have received a first dose of a two-shot vaccine.
Britain plans to give the first dose to around 15 million people, including those over 70, frontline healthcare workers and others who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, by the middle of February.
While the first stage of the vaccination program aims to protect around 85% of those deemed most likely to die from COVID-19, the country is expected to continue recording high mortality rates over coming weeks because of the lag time between infections and deaths.
The government reported 55,761 more confirmed infections on Friday and the deaths of another 1,280 people within 28 days of testing positive for the virus. The daily update brought the U.K.'s overall death toll to 87,295, the highest in Europe and the fifth-highest in the world.
Many of the newly diagnosed are likely to have become infected during the Christmas holidays, before the current national lockdown in England came into force on Jan. 5. The other nations of the U.K. - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - have tightened lockdown restrictions too.
Professor Chris Whitty, the British government's chief medical officer, said he hoped the peak of infections has 'œalready happened'ť in London and the southeast of England where the new U.K. variant was first identified and where restrictions had been tightened already before the national lockdown.
'œThe peak of deaths I fear is in the future, the peak of hospitalizations in some parts of the country may be around about now and beginning to come off the very, very top,'ť he said. 'œBecause people are sticking so well to the guidelines we do think the peaks are coming over the next week to 10 days for most places in terms of new people into hospital.'ť
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https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
People wearing face masks to curb the spread of coronavirus walks past a social distancing sign on Oxford Street in London, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, during England's third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. The U.K. is under an indefinite national lockdown to curb the spread of the new variant, with nonessential shops, gyms and hairdressers closed, most people working from home and schools largely offering remote learning. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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A man wearing a face mask to curb the spread of coronavirus walks past a social distancing sign at Oxford Circus in London, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, during England's third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. The U.K. is under an indefinite national lockdown to curb the spread of the new variant, with nonessential shops, gyms and hairdressers closed, most people working from home and schools largely offering remote learning. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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A woman feeds mostly pigeons just off Oxford Street in London, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, during England's third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. The U.K. is under an indefinite national lockdown to curb the spread of the new variant, with nonessential shops, gyms and hairdressers closed, most people working from home and schools largely offering remote learning. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva waits to take part in a group photo with EU Commissioners in Lisbon, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Santos Silva considered "without logic" the U.K.'s decision to ban travel from Portugal to ensure a new variant of COVID-19 found in Brazil doesn't derail the country's vaccination program. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
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Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa gestures after a group photo with EU Commissioners in Lisbon, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. The Portuguese government has considered "without logic" the U.K.'s decision to ban travel from Portugal to ensure a new variant of COVID-19 found in Brazil doesn't derail the country's vaccination program. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
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Members of the public queue to receive a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at Lichfield Cathedral, in Staffordshire, England, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. The U.K. is ramping up its mass vaccination program as the government seeks to protect the country's oldest and most vulnerable residents before easing a third national lockdown. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
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Audrey Elson, 84, leaves with her daughter after receiving a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at Lichfield Cathedral, in Staffordshire, England, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. The U.K. is ramping up its mass vaccination program as the government seeks to protect the country's oldest and most vulnerable residents before easing a third national lockdown. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
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A coronavirus information sign is displayed by a bus stop with a Union flag above in London, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, during England's third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. The U.K. is under an indefinite national lockdown to curb the spread of the new variant, with nonessential shops, gyms and hairdressers closed, most people working from home and schools largely offering remote learning. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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A coronavirus information sign is displayed by a bus stop in London, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, during England's third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. The U.K. is under an indefinite national lockdown to curb the spread of the new variant, with nonessential shops, gyms and hairdressers closed, most people working from home and schools largely offering remote learning. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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Coronavirus information signs are displayed in a bus stop in London, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, during England's third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. The U.K. is under an indefinite national lockdown to curb the spread of the new variant, with nonessential shops, gyms and hairdressers closed, most people working from home and schools largely offering remote learning. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing on COVID-19, in Downing Street, London, Friday Jan. 15, 2021. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)
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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing on COVID-19, in Downing Street, London, Friday Jan. 15, 2021. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)
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From left, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance speaks during a media briefing on COVID-19, in Downing Street, London, Friday Jan. 15, 2021. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)
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