Accurate as of: 27 October 2021
Current UK status
Visit https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ for all official information.
- As of 4pm on 27 October 2021, a total of 324,785,300 coronavirus (COVID-19) tests have been conducted in the UK. 8,897,149 people have tested positive.
- 49,794,120 people have had their first dose of the vaccination, while 45,605,922 have been fully vaccinated. 6,706,469 people have received their booster or third dose total.
- 163,515 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.
- From 4 October, the green, red & amber lists have been abolished. Now there is only a red list, from which people will have to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense for 10 days. Fully vaccinated people travelling from ‘rest of the world’ countries (not on the red list) are able to travel to the UK without the need for self-isolation; all that is required is a day 2 PCR test upon arriving in the UK. This test is set to be replaced with a cheaper lateral flow test from end of October.
Latest updates:
- The remaining seven countries on England’s Covid travel red list are set to be removed, the BBC understands. Passengers arriving from Colombia, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela and Ecuador will soon no longer have to quarantine in a hotel at their cost for 10 full days. But there is no suggestion the system is ending, and a country could be added back on the list if cases rise there. (BBC)
- The European Commission on 28 October said it would grant the NHS pass equivalence with its EU Digital Covid Certificate. The move is reciprocal, with the UK agreeing to accept the EU certificate as proof of vaccination. (TTG)
- Ryanair has vowed to refund customers for cancelled flights within five working days as part of a move to improve its customer service. The budget carrier said confirmation of, and access to, refunds will be offered in its myRyanair digital wallet within 24 hours. (Travel Weekly)
- Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has announced that Israel will accept all fully vaccinated tourists from 1 November. Previously, it had only allowed a limited number of tourists to enter the country on escorted tours. (Travel Gossip)
- Health chiefs in Spain have warned that coronavirus restrictions could be reintroduced in the popular resort of Benidorm due to a sudden rise in COVID cases. Ana Barcelo, Health Minister for the regional Valencian Government, said cases began to rise after 5 October when there was an influx of Brits. (Travel Gossip)
- The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled his autumn budget, which includes changes to Air Passenger Duty (APD) on both domestic and long-haul flights. Flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be subject to a 50 per cent cut in the ADP rate from April 2023 “to support UK connectivity”. Passengers will pay £6.50 in economy and £13 in other classes. On the other hand, ‘ultra-long-haul flights’ (more than 5,500 miles) will see rates rising to £91 for economy seats and £200 for other classes. (Business Traveller)
- Hilton reported Wednesday a $240 million profit for the third quarter, the company’s second consecutive quarter of profitability during the pandemic. Leisure travel dominated the recovery, with bookings in line with 2019 levels and rates for that sector even exceeding pre-pandemic levels however, they can see a revival in business travel – particularly from smaller companies. (Skift)
- Tripadvisor says that it rejected or removed more than two million reviews in 2020, using review analysis technology or manually. In its 2021 Tripadvisor Review Transparency Report, the company says the two million represented about 9% of all submissions, with almost one million of those judged to be fraudulent. (PhocusWire)
Social media:
- Facebook is to focus on serving young adults in new push. It is no secret that Facebook is losing touch with the youth, with various reports detailing the platform’s gradual decline in popularity among young users, as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok continue to rise. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the platform will make winning back the youth a key priority moving forward- even if that means losing older users as a result. (Social Media Today)
- Clubhouse is looking to add more context to in-app discussions with a new Pinned Links feature, which will enable users to attach any URL to the top of the room display. Moderators will now be able to add an external URL link within the room presentation. (Social Media Today)
- LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned platform for those connecting with others in their fields of work and those looking for work, has been known best in recruitment for sourcing candidates asnd advertising job openings for permanent work. Now, to complement that, LinkedIn is opening up a new front in the job market for freelancers. Today it is taking the wraps off its Service Marketplace, a new feature that will let people advertise themselves for short-term engagements to those looking to hire people for such roles. (Tech Crunch)
- Twitter has unveiled a new Revue newsletter subscription card that will enable newsletter sign-up direct from tweets in-stream. Revue creators will now be able to share a link to their newsletter sign-up in a tweet, providing more options to drive subscribers from the platform. (Social Media Today)
- TikTok has announced today it’s expanding its Video Kit offering for developers to include those building apps for the web, desktop, and consoles, in addition to its previous support for mobile platforms. (Tech Crunch)
