Headlines
• Portugal to allow tourists from the UK
• Japan declares state of emergency in three more prefectures
• Singapore announces new restrictions
• Italy lifts quarantine rules for the EU, UK and Israel
World news
• Japan will declare a state of emergency in three more prefectures. Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima on Sunday will join Tokyo, Osaka and four other prefectures under a state of emergency, until May 31.
• Italy has lifted quarantine rules for all travellers from the EU, UK and Israel on their arrival. Starting on Sunday 16 May, all travellers arriving in Italy from these areas are no longer obliged to quarantine for a period of five days on arrival.
• According to Public Health England data, there are 1,313 cases of the Indian variant in the UK, up from 520 the previous week.
• Estimates from the ONS survey suggest about 47,000 people in the UK would have tested positive for coronavirus in the week to 8 May, down from 57,000 people the previous week.
• The ONS reports 41% of adults would be more likely to attend an event if they were required to show a negative test, but a majority – 71% – said they would be less likely to attend if it meant spending an extra two hours in the venue to allow for a socially distanced exit.
• Wales is moving to alert level 2 from Monday, which allows:
• Tourists from the UK will be allowed to visit Portugal from Monday. Anyone arriving in the country will need to have had a PCR test 72 hours before departure.
• France has added Bahrain, Colombia, Costa Rica and Uruguay to its list of countries deemed high-risk zones, joining Brazil, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and India. This mean that people arriving from these countries have to undergo quarantine measures on arrival.
• The United Arab Emirates have approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for children, the government announced.
• A Taiwan-made vaccine will be available for residents of the country by the end of July.
• Singapore has announced new measures, effective from Sunday to mid-June: they include limiting social gatherings to two people and ceasing dining inside restaurants.
• A survey suggests as many as 38% of French-speaking Belgians are refusing vaccinations, compared with 20% of Flemish Belgians.
• Portugal has extended its state of emergency until 30 May.
• All adults on the island of Jersey will be offered a vaccine by mid-August.
• A petition calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics, which gathered 350,000 signatures in nine days, was submitted to the organisers today.
• Slovakia has ended its state of emergency.
Company news
• Delta Air Lines – will require all new hires in the United States to be vaccinated; however, the company is not making the requirement for current employees.
