COVID-19 News and Reference Thread

readytotaxi · Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:18 am

Israel will designate the UK and Denmark as countries on its Covid-19 “red list” at midnight due to concern over the spread of the Omicron variant.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-5967 ... type=share

Chemist · Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:26 pm

Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, is COVID-positive.
"A Day After Telling Congress That ‘Masks Don’t Add Much’ On Planes, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly Tested Positive For Covid-19"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerow ... 503c585455

I'm a huge Southwest fan, but after they and AA have stated positions against vaccine mandates for their staff - I'm inclined to vote with my pocketbook and fly somebody else.

FlyingElvii · Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:01 pm

Netherlands going back into Hard Lockdown from 5am tomorrow for at least three weeks.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/du ... 021-12-18/

davidjohnson6 · Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:30 am

Germany will treat the UK as a virus variant area and require all arrivals to do 14 days quarantine from Monday
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 78799.html

FlyingElvii · Tue Dec 21, 2021 3:58 am

Senator Dianne Feinstein calls for A Vaccine Mandate to Travel by Air Domestically.

https://twitter.com/SenFeinstein/status ... n%2Frising

54678264582 · Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:06 am

Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau says he won't close the borders https://jimbyerstravel.com/2021/12/22/c ... deau-says/

KarlB737 · Thu Dec 23, 2021 6:52 pm

Courtesy: Airways Magazine

United Express Grounds 100 Aircraft Due To Pilot Shortage

https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/united-express-grounds-100-aircraft/

ltbewr · Mon Dec 27, 2021 1:23 pm

DL flight from SEA to Shanghai turns around due to new rules by China for disinfection of planes as to Covid-19 before departing flights from that airport. Apparently the time it takes to do the procedure hurts operations and costs so DL and other airlines have reduced service to/from there. https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/d ... NewsSearch

dampfnudel · Wed Dec 29, 2021 7:28 am

Flight attendant union slams new CDC COVID guidelines that airline CEOs supported

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/f ... ted/?amp=1

oschkosch · Thu Dec 30, 2021 9:23 am

This article is in German language, rough translation by myself:
https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/der_boer ... 28067.html

Business will "drop off extremely after 10 January according to Carsten Spohr CEO of LH. Lots of cancellations coming in mainly due to Omicron variant, LH has canceled 20.000 in the first quarter 2022.

Lufthansa-Geschäft bricht bald "brutal ab" - Aktienkurs gen Süden
Carsten Spohr hat für die kommenden Wochen ein düsteres Bild gemalt. Bis 10. Januar laufe das Geschäft noch, aber dann "bricht es brutal ab", sagte der Lufthansa-Chef vor Mitarbeitern. Wegen der sich ausbreitenden Virusvariante Omikron hagele es "haufenweise Cancellations". Der Lufthansa-Vorstand habe deshalb entschieden, im ersten Quartal mehr als 20.000 Flüge zu streichen, heißt es in der "Börsenzeitung".

lightsaber · Thu Dec 30, 2021 3:13 pm

"Shortened COVID quarantine time could benefit economy but bring risk"
https://www.ksl.com/article/50319673/sh ... -dunn-says
Dr. Angela Dunn, executive director of the Salt Lake County Health Department and former state epidemiologist, said Wednesday that the new CDC guidance took public health officials across the nation by surprise.
...
Now people should quarantine for five days and continue to wear a mask for five additional days. Recommendations for people who are fully vaccinated but exposed to the virus remain to mask but not quarantine.

Well, I think that ensures this wave gets everywhere... This was a surprise that I've yet to see the medical journal paper actually supporting this decision (links appreciated as this is not a discussion thread).
Lightsaber

Revelation · Thu Dec 30, 2021 4:13 pm

Sorry for the all-caps, but the news is interesting and relevant:

SCMP EXCLUSIVE: CATHAY PACIFIC SHUTS DOWN LONG HAUL CARGO AND CARGO-ONLY PASSENGER FLIGHTS FOR 7 DAYS WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT; 3 DAY CREW QUARANTINE RAISED TO 7 DAYS BY HK GOVT. - MEMO: SCMP

Ref: https://twitter.com/JournoDannyAero/sta ... 5591721986

MON · Wed Jan 05, 2022 7:37 am

UK travel firms call for removal of testing rules
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59876063

SInGAPORE_AIR · Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:41 am

Hong Kong bans flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Philippines, United Kingdom and United States from 08 to 21 January 2022.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... on-spreads

LAXdude1023 · Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:04 pm

The drama regarding HKG seems to revolve around this:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/23/hong-ko ... visor.html

A Covid zero policy is absolutely foolish and will only cause irreparable economic damage. Covid is everywhere and we have to live with it.

readytotaxi · Thu Jan 06, 2022 12:48 pm

125 passengers who arrived in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on a chartered flight from Italy have tested positive for Covid-19.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-59894989

casinterest · Fri Jan 07, 2022 6:56 pm

readytotaxi wrote:
125 passengers who arrived in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on a chartered flight from Italy have tested positive for Covid-19.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-59894989

Wow,
And no it is not a repeat article.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/173-onb ... ar-2695305

Another flight from Rome to Amritsar had 173 test positive.

Amritsar airport Director V K Seth told PTI on Friday, "Test results of 210 passengers have been shared with me. Out of them, a total of 173 passengers have tested positive."

"This flight came from Rome. It landed at around 12.20 pm today at the airport," he added.

The officials said there were total 285 passengers on the charter flight that landed on Friday.

TokyoImperialPa · Tue Jan 11, 2022 5:40 am

The US CDC is advising against travel to Canada. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel ... isory.html

Japan is extending its ban on foreigners. https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coron ... f-February

mxaxai · Mon Jan 24, 2022 1:53 pm

Kiribati is entering a Covid lockdown after 36 of 54 passengers on the first flight since 10 months tested positive after arrival, despite negative tests prior to departure. Similarly, a flight to American Samoa brought 15 cases with it. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... with-virus https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... es-flight/

MartijnNL · Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:58 pm

People arriving in England or Scotland from abroad will no longer have to take Covid tests if they are fully vaccinated, it has been confirmed.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60109945

cirrusdragoon · Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:42 pm

Canada drops pre-arrival PCR test for fully vaccinated travellers on March 1, only require a rapid antigen test instead.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/pcr-te ... -1.6350469

smokeybandit · Fri Feb 18, 2022 3:19 pm

Texas is suing the CDC re: the transportation mask mandate

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/texas ... ar-AATX8PM

PresRDC · Thu Mar 10, 2022 4:22 pm

U.S. mandate will be extended. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics ... index.html

travaz · Tue Mar 15, 2022 3:10 am

LHR scraps Mask mandate BA and Virgin to follow
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 35605.html

54678264582 · Wed Mar 16, 2022 9:34 pm

Canada dropping pre arrival testing

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federa ... -1.6386763

smokeybandit · Thu Mar 17, 2022 4:30 pm

Heathrow drops mask mandate

https://twitter.com/CPtraveller/status/ ... LdoJelONDg

c933103 · Sat Mar 19, 2022 11:03 pm

https://www.wenweipo.com/a/202203/19/AP ... 04c6d.html
SF Express, China's delivery business, operate 6x weekly freight flight from Shenzhen airport to Hong Kong airport, to try to maintain supply to the city, as much of surface transport capacity have been restrained by quarantine requirements amid zero coronavirus strategy despite Hong Kong having one of the worst infection rate and coronavirus death rate in the world now.

hoons90 · Mon Mar 21, 2022 8:31 pm

As of April 1st, South Korea will scrap quarantine for all individuals entering from abroad if they are fully vaccinated (requires booster if 2nd shot was more than 180 days ago).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/d ... 051376001/

Furthermore, South Korea will resume visa free access for nationals of 46 countries, including Canada and Australia.

https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/au-en/brd/m ... 343&page=1
https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ca-toronto- ... seq=760612

FiscAutTecGarte · Wed Mar 23, 2022 11:18 pm

CEOs of 10 airlines within the USA urge the federal gov't to end the mask mandate and covid19 testing requirements.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/23/business ... index.html

smokeybandit · Tue Mar 29, 2022 6:51 pm

20 states sue to get rid of the airline mask mandate

http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.n ... 140055CA74

N5301D · Wed Mar 30, 2022 6:57 pm

Denmark scraps all COVID-19 travel restrictions
https://thepointsguy.com/news/denmark-f ... =editorial

Scoots71 · Thu Apr 14, 2022 2:38 pm

Reports are that the US travel mask mandate will be extended by 15 days to May 3rd.

https://m.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-704079

c933103 · Fri Apr 15, 2022 10:11 pm

https://finance.ettoday.net/news/2230361
Taiwan LCC Tigerair recruiting new pilots and cabin crew for training, as the company anticipate the country is going to open up in July or August

smokeybandit · Mon Apr 18, 2022 5:43 pm

The mask mandate, at least temporarily, was just shot down in court

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/18/politics ... rce=twCNNp

AngMoh · Sat Apr 23, 2022 7:03 am

Singapore removes requirements for COVID pre-departure testing per 26 March for fully vaccinated travellers and children below 12 years old. This means almost everyone as short term visitors are required to be fully vaccinated and the vaccination rate for residents of Singapore is 96% of eligible population (i.e. over 5 years old).

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapo ... re-2641161

readytotaxi · Wed May 11, 2022 5:47 pm

Covid mask rules relaxed for EU air travel. 16May

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61413015

"ECDC director Andrea Ammon said that although the wearing of masks would no longer be compulsory, it was important to remember that together with physical distancing and good hand hygiene, it is one of the best methods of reducing transmission".

smokeybandit · Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:00 pm

(CNN Business)White House officials met Tuesday with travel industry leaders who pressed the Biden administration to end its requirements that vaccinated international travelers take a coronavirus test before flying to the United States.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/31/business ... index.html

panam330 · Fri Jun 10, 2022 1:46 pm

Covid test requirement for US entry will be lifted this Sunday!

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/politics/us-to-end-pre-departure-testing-requirement/index.html

AviationLuver · Thu Jun 23, 2022 1:36 pm

South Africa has now dropped all mask requirements, including indoors and on transportation (planes).

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/must- ... ica-2022-6

AngMoh · Sat Jul 23, 2022 2:58 am

Singapore Changi is re-opening Terminal 4 on 13 September and Terminal 2 Departures in October (arrivals are already happening in T2).

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapo ... er-2828886

dcajet · Fri Aug 26, 2022 10:36 pm

Argentina became today the first country in South America to stop requesting COVID-related documentation for entry. No more vaccination certificates, sworn affidavits or health insurance, just a valid passport and visa if applicable.

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php

c933103 · Sat Aug 27, 2022 3:34 am

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 022-08-25/

In response to 26 flights on US carriers cancelled by China, US cancelled 26 Chinese flights
China claim the cancellation was based on metric of coronavirus positive rate
US claim this is unfair to carriers since they all tested negative before boarding the flights

sixfootscream · Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:20 am

EK and FZ lift the requirement to wear masks on their flights to Dubai.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/202 ... -the-city/

readytotaxi · Sat Oct 08, 2022 5:17 pm

Covid is on the rise again in the UK.

one in 50 people in England (up from one in 65)
one in 50 people in Wales (the same as before)
one in 40 in Northern Ireland (from one in 80) Wow!
one in 45 in Scotland (the same as before)
And not really into the winter months yet.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-63170006

dcajet · Wed Nov 23, 2022 8:54 pm

Brazil is reinstating the mandate mask at all airports and flights, eff. 25NOV. The country is facing an explosive growth of new COVID cases,

https://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2022/11/ ... noviembre/

readytotaxi · Wed Dec 28, 2022 3:21 pm

It probably doesn't.

The US is concidering restictions on Chinese arrivals now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64107553

American officials say this is due to a lack of transparency surrounding the virus in China, as cases surge.
Officials in the Italian city of Milan are already testing passengers on flights from China.
On one flight, which landed at the city's Malpensa Airport on Boxing Day, 52% of passengers were found to be positive for Covid

readytotaxi · Fri Dec 30, 2022 6:03 pm

The UK will now require a negative test before departure from China.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64130655

c933103 · Tue Jan 10, 2023 9:29 am

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/cov ... 023-01-10/
China stop issuing Visa to Japanese and Koean as retaliation

mercure1 · Thu Jan 12, 2023 3:01 am

WHO recommends long haul passengers should wear a facemask

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... s-who-says

BobRoss · Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:44 pm

Oral arguments begin today in the 11th circuit re: the Biden administration's appeal to reinstate their transportation mask mandate.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/flori ... story.html

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