Ahead of KT Events’ DXB F&B Awards, all set to take place on November 27, jury member Jean Winter talks at length about what it takes to be truly inclusive
lifestyle1 hour ago
European countries have started banning flights coming from the UK on Sunday as government in London warned that a potent new strain of the virus was “out of control”.
Following the example of the Netherlands, where a ban on all UK passenger flights came into effect on Sunday, a German government source said Berlin, too, was considering a similar move as “a serious option” for flights from both Britain and South Africa.
The Dutch ban came into effect from 6am (0500 GMT) and will last until January 1. And neighbouring Belgium also said it was suspending flight and train arrivals from Britain from midnight.
The moves come as around a third of England’s population entered a Christmas lockdown and UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new strain of virus was “out of control”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said the day before that millions of Britons would have to cancel their Christmas plans and stay home because the new strain was spreading far more quickly.
Speaking on Sky News, Hancock said the situation was “deadly serious.”
“It’s going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out,” he said.
It seems that scientists first discovered the new variant in a patient in September.
Susan Hopkins of Public Health England told Sky News that the agency notified the government on Friday when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain.
She confirmed a figure given by Johnson that the new virus strain could be 70 per cent more transmissible.
Last week, Europe has become the first region in the world to pass 500,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic broke out a year ago, killing more than 1.6 million worldwide and pitching the global economy into turmoil. Countries are shutting down their economies again in a bid to rein in the virus.
The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.
Italy also announced a new regime of restrictions until January 6 that included limits on people leaving their homes more than once a day, closing non-essential shops, bars and restaurants and curbs on regional travel.
Ahead of KT Events’ DXB F&B Awards, all set to take place on November 27, jury member Jean Winter talks at length about what it takes to be truly inclusive
lifestyle1 hour ago
The currency was at Dh23.02 as of 10.40 am IST
markets1 hour ago
The conglomerate's stocks have lost $33 billion in combined market value since the news of Gautam Adani's indictment
markets2 hours ago
The IPL termed these tournament dates as 'windows', but they are likely to end up being the final dates, according to a report
cricket2 hours ago
These special tickets must be bought in pairs and there’s a strict limit of two passes per person
entertainment2 hours ago
The Dubai-born golfer is tied for 26th at nine under par, heading into the final round of Stage 2 at the PGA Tour Qualifying School in Georgia
sports2 hours ago
Star batter Virat Kohli came out to huge cheers, but his stay at the crease was short-lived as Hazlewood extracted extra bounce from the surface
cricket3 hours ago
This extended timing is to accommodate individuals who will join the Dubai Run
transport3 hours ago