Accurate as of: 08 September 2021
Current UK status
Visit https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ for all official information.
- As of 4pm on 8 September 2021, a total of 274,558,295 coronavirus (COVID-19) tests have been conducted in the UK. 7,094,592 people have tested positive.
- 48,319,435 people have had their first dose of the vaccination, while 43,620,946 have been fully vaccinated.
- 156,888 patients in the UK who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.
UK travel restrictions:
Visit the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website for all official information.
- The UK government has amended its travelling abroad policy, so that travellers no longer need a ‘valid reason’ to travel abroad, opening international trips up to holidaymakers once again.
- In order to enter the UK from a green list country (or an amber list country for fully vaccinated Brits), a negative Covid-19 test must be completed 72 hours before travel and presented to staff on planes, trains, and ferries in order to board. A further test must be completed at the travellers’ expense before day two of their return.
- In order to enter the UK from an amber list country, a negative Covid-19 test must be completed 72 hours before travel and presented to staff on planes, trains, and ferries in order to board. For unvaccinated travellers, a further two tests must be completed at the travellers’ expense on days two and eight, and they must self-isolate for 10 days. Fully vaccinated travellers do not have to self-isolate, and simply need to take a day two test upon return.
- People entering the UK from high-risk countries, or “red” countries, will have to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense for 10 days.
Latest updates:
- The traffic light system for travel could be scrapped under plans being drawn up by ministers to simplify holidays. Officials have been told to develop a new system based on the vaccination status of travellers rather than the Covid rating of the country they are visiting. (Telegraph)
- EasyJet today confirmed plans to raise £1.2 billion to accelerate recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The budget carrier also agreed commitments for a new four-year senior secured revolving credit facility of $400 million in addition to the rights issue. (Travel Weekly)
- Gatwick has begun a public consultation on plans to bring its northern runway into service use alongside its main runway. The proposed plans would allow the airport’s existing northern runway to be bought into routine use for departing aircraft, by repositioning its centre line 12 metres north in order to enable dual runway operations. (Travel Weekly)
- British airways has announced a partnership with energy firm bp to source sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) as part of a BA Better World, its new sustainability programme. As part of the programme, the airline will source SAFs from bp with respect to all its flights between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh during the UK’s COP26 climate change summit being held in Glasgow later this year. BA said the SAF sourced for the COP26 period provides a lifecycle carbon reduction of up to 80 per cent compared to traditional jet fuel. (BTN Europe)
- British Airways has added a sustainable aviation (SAF) fuel option to its carbon offset programme. The new option means that at the time of booking passengers can not only offset their journey and donate to one of three offset projects, but also choose to pay more and buy the equivalent of 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel for their flight, which comes after their ‘BA Better World’ sustainability programme launch and is a welcomed step in BA’s sustainability policy. (Business Traveller)
- Travel restrictions, mask and vaccine requirements, as well as office openings are all in flux. This has underscored the need to be agile and find new solutions. There are already some great examples of different players coming together to help address COVID-19 testing challenges. United Airlines, for example, continues to partner to deliver solutions that make it simple for customers to understand and meet all testing and vaccination requirements directly through its digital channels. (PhocusWire)
- American Airlines is the latest carrier to report lower than forecast revenues in August amid the surge in Covid-19 Delta variant cases. The company’s seeing a big delay in the return of lucrative business travellers. (Skift)
Social media:
- Twitter has announced a live test of its new ‘Communities’ option, which will enable users to share tweets with selected groups of users in the app, as opposed to publicly broadcasting or sharing all of their tweets with all of their followers, all of the time. (Social Media Today)
- Snapchat has added a new way to remember friends’ birthdays, and share celebration within the app, with a new ‘Birthdays Mini’ reminder tool. (Social Media Today)
- TikTok has announced a new #TikTokFashionMonth program, which will highlight a range of fashion influencers in the app, and see the platform host various live-streams and events, aligning with community interest. (Social Media Today)
