Travel news latest: Spain and Greece tighten restrictions as cases rise

Nicola Sturgeon is set to announce today whether Scotland’s coronavirus restrictions can be eased as planned on Monday.

The First Minister has said she hopes to move the whole country to Level 0 from July 19, depending on the latest case numbers, hospital admissions and the vaccination rollout.

Level 0 would reduce the two-metre distancing rule to one metre in indoor public spaces.

Indoor gathering restrictions would be further lifted to allow up to eight people from up to three households to meet.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, raised the possibility of forcing all citizens to get vaccinated on Monday, as he announced that jabs would be compulsory from September for health workers to help battle a fresh rise in Covid cases.

“We must go towards vaccination of all French people, it is the only way towards a normal life,” Mr Macron said in a televised address to the nation.

“A new race against the clock is on,” he said, referring to the highly contagious delta variant.

“We may need to ask ourselves the question of mandatory vaccination for all.”

In a televised address, Mr Macron also said special Covid-19 passes would be required for anyone who wants to go to a restaurant, shopping mall or hospital or get on a train or plane. 

To get a pass, people must have proof they’re fully vaccinated, or recently recovered from the virus, or have taken a fresh negative virus test.

Read the full story. 

A phone call from Track and Trace, late test results and airport queues are among the possible stumbling blocks, even for the double jabbed. Emma Featherstone writes.

“If you are planning a trip overseas this summer there are a number of potential catches to consider. Foremost, whether your chosen destination is welcoming UK travellers and, if so, what entry requirements it has in place, such as proof of full vaccination or proof of a negative Covid test. Should you need a test for entry, it is possible that the result will not be delivered in time.

“Next is travel insurance: as of July 10, there were 80 countries on the amber list to which the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still advising against non-essential travel. It will be difficult to secure cover should your destination feature among these.

“Then, of course, it is possible that you could test positive for coronavirus – or be contacted by Track and Trace – at some point before your holiday (or indeed find out that you have the virus while abroad).  

“Despite all this, if you keep the potential stumbling blocks in mind (this list is not exhaustive), prepare for any problems and remain flexible, it is possible to have an enjoyable holiday abroad this summer. We explain some of the potential risks in more detail and how best to avoid, or reduce, them.”

Read the full advice. 

The Washington Monument will reopen to visitors this week for the first time in six months, according to the National Park Service.

The national landmark honoring America’s founding father was shut as a security measure in January for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and was kept closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

It has been closed for the majority of the pandemic, but will now reopen to visitors; they must reserve a ticket online and masks must be worn. 

Towering above the city sharing its name, the monument celebrates the military and political leadership of George Washington, whose Continental Army led newly-American revolutionaries to independence from Britain.

On its completion in 1884, the 555-foot (170-meter) obelisk was briefly the tallest building in the world. Hundreds of thousands of pre-pandemic tourists visited the structure annually, according to data from the National Parks Service.

The AFP has more detail on Spain’s reintroduction of restrictions in the region  of Valencia. 

It reports:

Regional leaders in northeastern Catalonia said all public activities must finish at half past midnight, and no more than 10 people will be allowed to gather in private or public places.

“The data are more than worrying, they are frankly very, very bad,” Catalonia’s public health secretary Josep Maria Argimon told reporters in Barcelona.

The whole of Spain has been facing a “rapid” and “significant” increase in the incidence of the virus for several weeks, with 368 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days, said Fernando Simon, the central government’s chief epidemiologist.

The latest wave of the disease has hit in particular under-30s who have not been vaccinated, he added.

In the province of Valencia, south of Catalonia, a 1 to 6 am curfew was restored in 32 towns, including the regional capital Valencia, Spain’s third largest city after Madrid and Barcelona. All meetings were restricted to six people.

In the face of the increase in Covid-19 cases, neighbouring France last week advised people not to travel to Spain, labelling it a “red zone” country.

Hospital occupancy numbers in Spain are increasing slowly while the death rate is not rising at all, as so many more vulnerable people have been vaccinated, Simon said.

According to the health ministry, 59 percent of Spain’s 47 million people have received at least one vaccine dose, while 45 percent have been fully vaccinated.

It is too early to to be talking about freedom because Covid is still “troubling and dangerous”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned. 

Dr David Nabarro told Radio 4’s Today programme the virus is “troubling and dangerous”, that the “pandemic is advancing ferociously around the world” and that “I don’t think we’ve anywhere near got through the worst of it“.

Asked about the Government’s switch to personal responsibility, he said: “All this doesn’t quite fit with the position that was taken by Britain, along with other nations, some months ago when there was a real effort to try to prevent large numbers of people getting the disease, partly because of the risk of death and partly because of the recognition of the risk of long Covid.

“It’s necessary to be unequivocal on this particular challenge. What does urging caution mean? It’s important that everybody knows the best possible advice on how to prevent themselves being infected. I accept that vaccination has changed the nature of the equation in the UK but quite honestly from any point of view it’s too early to be talking about massive relaxation or freedom when the outbreak curve is on such a sharp ascent.

“Yes, relax, but don’t have these mixed messages about what’s going on. This dangerous virus hasn’t gone away, it’s variants are coming back and are threatening those who have already been vaccinated – we have to take it seriously.”

Follow the latest from our coronavirus live blog here. 

Good morning and welcome to the travel live blog. Here aere five stories we’ll be watching today…

• Oxford residents told to take Covid tests before travelling
• Heathrow ‘chaos’ as 120 security staff told to isolate
• Four tourists ordered off Bali for violating virus restrictions
• Heathrow passengers down almost 90pc on pre-pandemic levels

• India medical experts call for postponement of tourism