President Biden will remove the ban on travel between the United States and countries in southern Africa at midnight on Dec. 31, a senior administration official said on Friday, reversing restrictions imposed last month to combat the spread of the Omicron variant. The region’s leaders had denounced the ban asContinue Reading
For travelers from Canada who are unclear what to do about holiday plans in international destinations, the federal government issued new guidance on Wednesday that could tip the scales: Consider canceling your trip. Since early November, Canada has seen a steady rebound in coronavirus cases, according to a Dec. 10Continue Reading
With new coronavirus cases surging at home, the British government on Tuesday lifted its special restrictions on travelers arriving from 11 African countries, ending measures it had adopted hoping to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Nations including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia were put on a “red list”Continue Reading
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain on Wednesday announced major new restrictions to curb the fast-spreading Omicron variant, reversing course on a long-held policy at a moment of acute political peril for him, with his staff accused of flouting the rules by holding an office party during lastContinue Reading
The United States began requiring international travelers on Monday to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken no more than a day before their flights. The move, intended to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, is causing headaches for many passengers. Previously, fully vaccinated travelers could provide proofContinue Reading
As the number of confirmed cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant rose to 160 in Britain, the government on Saturday announced further tightening of travel restrictions to combat its spread. Beginning Tuesday, travelers will be required to take a coronavirus test within 48 hours of traveling to Britain regardless ofContinue Reading
LONDON — Deborah Tudhope was growing anxious. An American lawyer living in London, she was hoping to fly back to the United States in two weeks to see her 96-year-old mother, who lives in a retirement home in Maine. But the Omicron-driven travel restrictions announced on Thursday by the WhiteContinue Reading
The heavily mutated new coronavirus variant was in Europe several days earlier than previously known, health officials said Tuesday, and the number of countries where it has been found increased to at least 20, raising questions about whether the pandemic is about to surge once again. The Netherlands’ National InstituteContinue Reading
LONDON — At almost every step of the pandemic, Britain has been a coronavirus renegade. It locked down later than its European neighbors in March 2020, rolled out vaccines faster than almost any major country earlier this year, and threw off virtually all restrictions last summer in an audacious bidContinue Reading
What is the Omicron variant? First identified in Botswana and South Africa, this new iteration of the coronavirus has prompted concern among scientists and public health officials because of an unusually high number of mutations that have the potential to make the virus more transmissible and less susceptible to existingContinue Reading