Dominique Vidalon and Aislinn laing

PARIS (Reuters, France) – France imposed restrictions on travel from Britain Thursday following a surge in COVID-19 case numbers. Several European countries increased their border control on EU citizens visiting France.

Omicron has spread rapidly to many parts of the globe, disrupting plans for Christmas celebrations throughout Europe and countries all over the globe. It was discovered in Hong Kong last month and in Southern Africa.

On Wednesday, Britain recorded the highest daily number of coronavirus infections since the outbreak. French authorities announced that truck drivers and certain other categories of travelers would not be allowed to travel between France and Britain on Thursday. Anyone arriving in Britain from the United Kingdom would need to seperate.

Gabriel Attal, a spokesperson for the French government said that “our goal is to reduce as much Omicron spread across our territory as possible.” “Tourism or business travel by people other than French nationals or Europeans will be curtailed, as well as for those who do not reside in France.

According to Reuters, senior medical staff told Reuters that British hospitals are struggling to sustain their staffing levels as people have to be isolated with COVID-19. As a precaution, Queen Elizabeth 95 cancelled a lunch she had planned with her family before Christmas.

Sweden announced that it will require all visitors from Nordic countries to obtain a vaccination pass in response to an increase in the number of new infections.

South Korea, which is located in Asia’s Asia region, said that spiraling infection had caused it to impose strict restrictions on gatherings, close cafes, bars, and restrict the use of public spaces.

Just weeks ahead of the anniversary of coronavirus’s emergence in Wuhan (China), the new outbreak of infection and return to stricter controls are occurring. Over 5 million deaths have occurred worldwide from COVID-19 and 272,000,000 cases have been recorded.

Over 8.5 billion COVID-19 vaccinations have been given to date. This effort is being challenged now by Omicron variants’ outburst.

ROUND THE BOX

After Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain said that they required people who cross their borders to be negative in COVID-19 tests, as well as having a vaccine passport, tensions rose at the summit of EU leaders held in Brussels.

Krisjanis Karins, Latvia’s Prime Minister, stated that freedom to travel within the EU’s Schengen Area without restrictions must continue.

Europe was plagued by long waiting lines as vaccination booster campaigns, the first dose of vaccines for children 5-11 years, generated long lines. Clinics, hospitals and pharmacies had to manage high demand.

The preliminary data suggest that Omicron vaccines may not be as effective, however boosters can increase protection.

Chris Whitty, England’s chief physician, said that vaccinations can reduce the number of patients admitted to ICU and decrease the hospital stay.

Retailers and travel operators said that tightening COVID regulations will be a major problem in the lead-up to Christmas.

Officials from the British-side of the Channel at Dover (NYSE 🙂 said that France’s new travel restrictions will reduce the already significant reduction in tourist numbers.

Boohoo is a British online fashion retailer that has issued its second profit warning after four months. This was due to factors like an increase in returns for partywear following the cancellation of Christmas parties.

Weekendesk in Spain, which is a holiday site, reported that cancellations increased 19% over the week before and blamed a change in vaccine passport requirements in Catalonia Valencia Andalucia.

SPORTING LIFE

This impact is also felt in the wider world of sports, including at grassroots and elite levels.

Many amateur clubs across Britain have closed their clubhouses and cancelled fixtures despite the fact that there was no official guidance.

On Thursday, the fourth Premier League match was cancelled after Brentford’s manager Thomas Frank asked for games to be delayed to let clubs recover depleted teams.

Following a huge spike in positive player tests, Sweden’s national soccer team pulled out of a friendly against Finland. Teams and leagues from the major North American sports attempted to prevent cancellations.