Palace: Time to consider halting travel from UK amid new COVID-19 strain
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines may soon halt the entry of travelers from the United Kingdom to the country amid a new strain of the coronavirus reported by British authorities that is causing more infections in their country.
Several countries have already imposed a travel ban from the UK as officials there say the new strain is "out of control."
Despite this, the World Health Organization has said that it is normal for viruses to mutate, but its transmission should be suppressed as soon as possible.
"The UK has reported that this new variant transmits more easily but there is no evidence so far that it is more likely to cause severe disease or mortality," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.
The COVID-19 has infected 77.4 million individuals as of December 22 with over 1.7 million dead, per figures by the John Hopkins University and Medicine.
At home, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said that the coronavirus task force would study the possibility of a temporary travel ban from the UK.
In another briefing on Tuesday, he said it may now be time to alert the transportation department for the said move.
"Pero tama po kayo, panahon na para ikonsidera 'yang temporary travel ban sa UK bagamat pakinggan din ang sinabi ng WHO na hindi naman dapat ikabahala 'yan dahil ganyan talaga 'yung progression ng viruses," Roque said.
(Perhaps you are right, we should now consider the temporary travel ban from UK, although from what we heard from the WHO there is not much to worry as such is a normal progression of viruses.)
The UK government has ordered a new lockdown across its country due to the said strain amid the holiday season.
Philippine health officials have also said that they are monitoring if it has reached the country, but added that restricting travel "would not be required at this point."
The Duterte administration early this 2020 thumbed down calls to ban entry of tourists from China, where the novel coronavirus had originated in its city of Wuhan late last year.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had told lawmakers that the country should be "careful of possible repercussions" of seemingly singling out China, a nation which the president has pivoted the Philippines to.
A travel ban was eventually ordered by January 31, only a day after authorities had already confirmed its first case of a Chinese tourist who flew to several destinations in the country.
Infections have grown significantly since then, with cases now at 462,815 by December 22, and the death toll surpassing the 9,000th mark.
To date, the Philippines' count of COVID-19 patients is the second highest in Southeast Asia, next only to Indonesia's over 671,000. — with a report from Xave Gregorio
Find the latest travel and tourism news from around the world amid the coronavirus pandemic. Main image by AFP/Romeo Gacad
Airlines will fly 4.35 billion passengers this year, close to the 2019 record as the industry bounces back from the Covid pandemic, an industry group said on Monday.
The sector will also be back in the green, with net profits forecast to reach $9.8 billion in 2023, or double previous estimates, boosted by the end of China's Covid restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The association added that its 2022 losses were half as bad as previously estimated at $3.6 billion.
"Airline financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement during the association's annual general meeting in Istanbul.
"Stronger profitability is supported by several positive developments. China lifted Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year than anticipated," Walsh said. — AFP
Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific reports its first annual operating profit since 2019 as the airline fights to return to pre-pandemic flight capacity.
"Cathay Pacific has experienced three challenging years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 2022 very much being a year of two halves," chairman Patrick Healy says in a statement announcing the results..
Cathay is still trailing regional rivals such as Singapore Airlines, with Hong Kong's axing of harsh pandemic curbs -- including mandatory hotel quarantine and strict testing requirements -- only beginning in the fall of last year.
The airline operated at one-third of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity in December but expects to reach 70% of that figure by the end of 2023, the company says. — AFP
German airline giant Lufthansa says Friday it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses, its fortunes lifted by rebounding demand as economies reopened after COVID-19 shutdowns.
The group reported a net profit of 791 million euros ($839 million) for last year. This compares to a net loss of 2.2 billion euros in 2021 and 6.7 billion euros in 2020.
"Lufthansa is back," says the company's CEO Carsten Spohr. — AFP
People hoping to take advantage of a Hong Kong scheme to give away half a million free airline tickets face hours-long online queues on Wednesday, as the Asian financial hub bids to woo tourists back.
The city last month launched a campaign to reboot its reputation as "Asia's world city", after years of strict pandemic-related travel restrictions and a crackdown on sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong became one of the last places in the world to drop its outdoor mask mandate, which city leader John Lee said was a sign that it was "resuming normalcy". — AFP
Australian airline Qantas says Thursday it bounced back into profit in late 2022, hailing a "huge turnaround" after swallowing massive losses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national carrier posted a second-half profit of Aus$1.43 billion (US$974 million) before tax, after accumulating Aus$7 billion in losses across the previous three years.
Chief executive Alan Joyce says surging demand for flights had boosted the company's fortunes while announcing a plan to buy back Aus$500 million in Qantas shares. — AFP
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