The East African
Tuesday April 13 2021
Cargo offloaded from a plane. Cargo transportation between the UK and Kenya may be disrupted as the two countries seek an amicable solution on the admittance of crew on their respective soils. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
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Cargo transportation between the UK and Kenya may be disrupted by up to a week from April 9 as the two countries seek an amicable solution on the admittance of crew on their respective soils.
Last week, both countries suspended passenger flights to each other’s territories in tit-for-tat decisions over lack of uniform controls on Covid-19.
The UK was the first on April 2 when it banned travellers from Kenya, except UK nationals, effective April 9. London argued that Kenya’s Covid-19 certifications for travellers have been faulty, with nearly 30 per cent of weekly 550 arrivals testing positive a day after arriving. Most of them had the South African variant of Covid-19, UK argued.
The East African
Tuesday April 06 2021
A Kenya Airways Dreamliner aircraft. The company is repurposing two of its Dreamliners to create space for cargo. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
Summary
Kenya is among four countries that have been added to the UK s red list amid concerns about new Covid-19 variants.
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Kenya Airways has suspended passenger flights between Kenya and the United Kingdom (UK) effective April 9, 2021 until further notice.
The date coincides with that set by the UK banning all travellers from Kenya entering their territory to prevent further spread of Covid-19 virus.
In a statement issued on Monday, KQ explained that the suspension is due to the directive issued by Kenya, suspending all flights from the UK, effective midnight April 9, 2021.
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Though the news the nation is set to lift its UK travel ban may be a positive sign for things to come, currently leisure travel is off the cards for the UK.
Under the current national lockdown rules, leisure travel is still illegal.
It will not be until May 17 when Prime Minister Boris Johnson will consider allowing tourists to jet off on holiday.
According to his “roadmap” out of lockdown, the UK Government’s decision making will be led by “data and not dates”.
Nations which may require a vaccine passport in the future (Image: DX)
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This will include the latest statistics on the vaccine roll-out and the impact it has had on Covid cases and deaths.
“This is a very tough measure, but we are at a crossroads. The British variant doesn’t leave us with an alternative,” Mr Rutte said in a press conference.
Citizens of other nations who have recently travelled in any of these nations will also be banned from entering the Netherlands.
The nation is also further enhancing measures within the country in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.
A national lockdown in the Netherlands is set to be extended by another three weeks.
The UK vaccination rate (Image: DX)
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Finland is also making moves to ban flights from the UK, Ireland and South Africa amid concerns over the new COVID-19 strains.
| UPDATED: 15:54, Thu, Jan 21, 2021
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Its caretaker government rolled out a series of new measures to combat the threat posed by the variant that ravaged Britain and now believed to be circulating on the Continent. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “We re getting out of this, but first we have to brace ourselves again now that more contagious variants are coming our way.” In an announcement, The Hague said it would introduce “additional travel restrictions and no-fly zones”.