Travellers to Britain are now being required to go into quarantine for two weeks — a sweeping measure meant to halt the further spread of COVID-19.
Starting Monday, all passengers will be asked to fill in a form detailing where they will self-isolate, with only a few exceptions. Those who fail to comply with the quarantine rules could be fined.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary says the quarantine will cause “untold devastation” for the country’s tourism industry — not just on the airlines.
He told the BBC that hotels, visitor attractions and restaurants will also be hurt, and thousands of jobs will be lost.
Early indications suggest there has been a “good level of compliance” with Britain’s introduction of a 14-day quarantine for those arriving in the country, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
“All of the indications so far are that there has been a good level of compliance and we do expect the vast majority of people to play their part in helping to stop the spread of this disease,” the spokesperson told reporters, adding that this was based on people agreeing to fill in the necessary forms.
The U.K. is among the hardest-hit countries in the world, with more than 287,000 reported coronavirus cases and more than 40,000 deaths, according to a case tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
WATCH | Don’t make assumptions about the coronavirus, epidemiologist says:
We don’t know if antibodies will ultimately protect people from the coronavirus so it’s still possible to get reinfected, says epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos. 7:15
The U.S. still had the most reported cases of any nation in the world at more than 1.9 million cases and more than 110,00 deaths, according to the Baltimore-based university.
As of 7:30 a.m. ET on Monday, Canada had 95,699 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases, with 54,233 considered recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial data, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 7,859.
Here’s what’s happening with COVID-19 in Canada
Read on for a look at what’s happening around the world with COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
Moldova registered a record number of new cases of the coronavirus during the first week of June, the government said Monday, as a former health minister described the pandemic situation in the country as “out of control.”
Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe and plagued by corruption and political turmoil, confirmed 1,449 new cases of COVID-19 for the week of June 1-7, nearly 300 more than the previous week, according to data from the Ministry of Health. It was the fourth consecutive week with more than 1,000 new cases.
During the first week of June, Moldova also suffered 46 coronavirus deaths, including two medical workers, compared to 45 deaths a week earlier.
A country of 3.3 million people, Moldova has become a politically strategic area for both the West and Russia since gaining independence after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since its first confirmed case on March 7, Moldova has registered 9,700 cases of the coronavirus and 346 deaths.
Dr. Ala Nemerenco, a former health minister, was very critical of the government’s handling of the pandemic.
“You don’t have to be an epidemiologist, a virologist or even a doctor to understand that the situation has gotten out of control,” Nemerenco said in a Facebook post in reference to the rising number of cases.
Children in South Africa began returning to classrooms on Monday as part of a gradual loosening of restrictions imposed under a months-long COVID-19 lockdown in the continent’s most industrialized nation.
The reopening of schools had been delayed after teachers’ unions urged school staff to defy the government order last week, saying schools lacked sufficient health and hygiene measures to keep educators and pupils safe.
South Africa has counted nearly 50,000 cases of the novel coronavirus — the most of any country in sub-Saharan Africa — along with almost 1,000 deaths.
A staff member sanitizes the hands of students as schools begin to reopen after the coronavirus lockdown in Soweto township in Johannesburg on Monday. (Siyabonga Sishi/Reuters)
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Sunday that ramped-up efforts to equip schools over the past week meant that 95 per cent of South Africa’s primary and secondary schools were now able to host classes.
“The golden rule is there will be no school that will resume if not ready to do so,” Motshekga said.
The government will find alternative arrangements for pupils at schools unable to open on Monday, she said. Initially, only pupils in Grades 7 and 12 will return to class, with other years phased in gradually.
Total cases in Saudi Arabia exceeded 100,000 on Sunday as the kingdom struggled to get a grip on a rise in new infections over the past 10 days.
India is reopening its restaurants, shopping malls and religious places in most states even as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the country grows. The Health Ministry reported another 9,983 cases Monday, raising India’s count past 256,000 to fifth most in the world. The 206 fatalities reported Monday were the highest single-day rise and takes the country’s death toll to 7,135.
New Delhi is also reopening its state borders, allowing interstate movement of people and goods.
A security staff member wearing a protective mask checks the temperature of a customer outside a shopping mall after the government eased a lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the coronavirus in Siliguri, India. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)
India already partially restored train services and domestic flights and allowed shops and manufacturing to reopen. Schools remain closed.
The number of new cases has soared since the government began relaxing restrictions. There has also been a surge in infections in India’s vast countryside following the return of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who left cities and towns after losing their jobs.
The number of new coronavirus infections in Pakistan continued to spiral upward, as the nation of 220 million people surpassed 100,000 cases as of Sunday, with more than 2,000 deaths.
The daily infection rate spiked after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ended and markets were thrown open during the Eid-al Fitr holiday at the end of May. That followed the government refusing to close mosques and deciding to open up the country even as medical professionals pleaded for a stricter lockdown,
A health worker leaves after collecting samples from a family for coronavirus testing in Islamabad on Monday. (Anjum Naveed/The Associated Press)
Since then, the daily infection rates have held fairly steady with just under 5,000 new cases each day. Testing has held steady in recent days at about 22,000 each day, with government officials saying Pakistan aimed to eventually carry out 30,000 tests every day.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has gone on national television to tell Pakistanis the country’s poorest cannot survive a strict lockdown.
The International Monetary fund and the Asian Development Bank have both given Pakistan millions of dollars in bridge loans to ease the economic impact of the pandemic pummelling economies worldwide.
Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta, the city hardest hit by the new coronavirus, has partly reopened after two months of partial lockdown as the world’s fourth-most populous nation braces to gradually reopen its economy.
The city of 11 million people, with a total of 30 million in its greater metropolitan area, has been under large-scale social restrictions since April 10.
Commuters queue for trains bound for Jakarta at a station in Bogor, Indonesia on Monday as Jakarta loosened a partial lockdown despite the rise in COVID-19 cases. (Aditya Aji/AFP/Getty Images)
Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan announced that all worship facilities will be allowed to reopen with half their capacity and physical distancing measures on Friday, followed by offices, restaurants and grocery stores that begin to resume activities with only 50 per cent of their employees and clients on Monday. The measure also applies to public transportation.
Schools are closed during this month’s transition phase to the so-called “new normal,” while some shopping centres, zoos and beaches will open next week.
In New Zealand, health officials reported that the final person known to have become infected had recovered.
It has been 17 days since the last new case was reported in New Zealand, and Monday also marked the first time since late February that there have been no active cases. Health officials caution that new cases could be imported into the country, which has closed its borders to everybody but citizens and residents, with some exceptions.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said it was a pleasing development.
“Having no active cases for the first time since Feb. 28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey, but as we’ve previously said, ongoing vigilance against COVID-19 will continue to be essential,” Bloomfield said.
Experts say a number of factors have helped the nation of five million wipe out the disease, including its isolated location, along with leadership shown by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who imposed a strict lockdown early on during the outbreak. Just over 1,500 people contracted the virus in New Zealand, including 22 who died.
Russia said it will partially reopen the country’s borders as the country eases coronavirus restrictions.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Monday that travelling abroad for the purposes of work, studying, receiving medical treatment or taking care of relatives will be allowed. He said Russia will let in foreigners seeking medical treatment or taking care of family members. It wasn’t immediately clear when the partial reopening of the borders would go into effect.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters there is “no set date” yet for resuming international flights, which were halted in late March.
An employee checks the temperature of a visitor at the entrance of the annual book fair on the Red Square in downtown Moscow over the weekend. The open-air book fair was the first public event since the country eased lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)
Last month, President Vladimir Putin called for gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions, saying that Russia was able to slow down the epidemic.
The country’s health officials, however, have been reporting around 9,000 new infections daily since mid-May and some experts are concerned that easing lockdown restrictions may be premature.
Brazil removed from public view months of data on its COVID-19 epidemic on Saturday, as President Jair Bolsonaro defended delays and changes to official record-keeping of the world’s second-largest coronavirus outbreak.
Chile revised its death toll sharply higher on Sunday, adding fatalities from databases that previously had not been included.
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
