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Bleak Outlook for World Airports in Face of Pandemic

From today, arrivals to the UK from all destinations will be required to quarantine in an effort to prevent the spread of any new variants of the virus. Travellers will also need to show proof of a negative test taken in the previous 72 hours before travelling.

Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: “The closure of travel corridors is understandable from a public health perspective but this adds to the current near-complete shutdown of the UK’s airports, which are vital for our post-pandemic prosperity. This is making a devastating situation for UK airports and communities relying on the jobs and economic benefits that aviation brings, worse.

“The UK and devolved governments now need to set out as a matter of extreme urgency how they will support airports through this deepening crisis. Business rate support, announced last year and in England not yet even open to applications, is no longer sufficient to ensure airports can weather the difficult months ahead.”

Dee adds that airports are currently keeping their infrastructure open to support vital and critical services, such as post, freight, emergency services, military and coastguard flights, as well as supporting flights to offshore oil, gas and wind operations. “Airports are doing so while running on empty – there is only so long they can run on fumes before having to close temporarily to preserve their business for the future. Government needs to help cover airports’ operational costs by, for example, urgently providing relief from regulatory, policing, air traffic and business rates costs in the current and the coming tax year.”

The outlook for aviation globally is equally bleak. The International Air Transport Association warns that between US$70-80bn of government support is needed to see the world’s airlines through until June, on top of the US$170bn that has already been granted. The association says that a 61% fall in air travel demand last year has led to total losses in 2020 of US$118bn.

Meanwhile, rail operator Eurostar has suggested that it is under existential threat following a 95% fall in passenger numbers as a result of the pandemic. It has also asked for a support package, while a letter from a number of business leaders has called on the UK government to save the service, warning that it could run out of funds to continue operating the service from London St Pancras to Paris and Brussels.

The post Bleak Outlook for World Airports in Face of Pandemic appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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U.K. Steps Up Mass Vaccination as Travel Corridors Close

By: Emily Ashton | Jan 18 2021 at 03:26 AM | Air Cargo News

The U.K. will step up its mass coronavirus vaccination program this week, offering shots to millions more people, as the country shuts its borders to anyone who hasn’t tested negative.

Vaccines will be offered to people aged 70 and over, and those deemed “clinically extremely vulnerable” from Monday—the third and fourth priority groups. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it a “significant milestone” in the vaccination effort.

The government aims to offer the vaccine to all U.K. adults by September, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Sunday. So far, almost 3.9 million people have received their first dose, according to the government.

Meanwhile, ministers will close travel corridors with other countries from Monday, meaning that all visitors from overseas will require a negative test result within 72 hours of travel to enter Britain. Health officials will step up checks to make sure they self-isolate at home for the next 10 days.

The government hasn’t ruled out setting up quarantine hotels or using GPS trackers to make sure people stay put. Raab told Sky News it would consider “all possibilities” to enforce Covid rules and prevent any new variants of the virus derailing the U.K.’s vaccination efforts.

Forcing travelers to stay in dedicated hotels on arrival would still put the U.K. many months behind other countries, including Australia which introduced the policy last March.

Lockdown

England is in its third national lockdown, with schools closed and people ordered to stay at home as the government attempts to control the surge in cases over the winter. There are currently more than 37,000 coronavirus patients hospitalized, and the daily death toll remains high—with another 671 deaths recorded Sunday.

Johnson’s government is pinning its hopes on the vaccination program to end the crisis. The National Health Service will begin rolling out the shot to the two new groups this week because some areas of England have already vaccinated the top two priority groups: the over-80s and frontline health and care workers.

Ten new mass vaccination centers will open this week—including at a racecourse, cathedral and rugby ground—taking the total in England to 17, with more to follow. There are also 1,200 hospitals and GP-led sites offering vaccinations.

‘Challenges Ahead’

“We have a long way to go and there will doubtless be challenges ahead—but by working together we are making huge progress in our fight against this virus,” Johnson said in a statement.

The current lockdown is set to be reviewed in mid-February, but ministers have warned there will be no quick return to normality. Raab said restrictions would only begin to be lifted by the “early spring” and that it would be a gradual process rather than a “big bang.” On Monday, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi suggested the government might be able to start relaxing lockdown rules in the first half of March.

“There will be a point at which we can begin to gradually lift the non-pharmaceutical interventions,” Zahawi told Times Radio. Using the mid-February target for vaccinating the highest priority groups and adding 2-3 weeks for the shots to take effect, “you’re talking about the first, second week of March,” he said.

The profound impact of 10 months of restrictions on businesses and workers means that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure to do more to help the poorest families.

Benefits Row

The U.K.’s main opposition Labour party will turn up the heat Monday by forcing a vote in the House of Commons on extending a boost in benefit payments—worth more than 1,000 pounds ($1,355) a year—beyond March 31. Raab said the uplift to Universal Credit was a “temporary measure” and March’s Budget would set out support.

The Times reported Saturday that Sunak plans to give a one-time payment of 500 pounds to benefit recipients instead. But a powerful group of Conservative lawmakers, the Northern Research Group, has warned this would be not enough—and insisted Sunak must extend the benefits uplift.

Ministers are also facing calls to do more for sectors of the economy hardest hit by the virus restrictions—the British Chambers of Commerce warned last week that many businesses are “on their knees.”

A new government grant program for airports and their ground operations to help with the costs of closing travel corridors was welcomed by the British Airline Pilots Association—but they warned that the situation for aviation was “becoming desperate” and called for a wider recovery plan.

For Eurostar International Ltd., whose passenger trains link London with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, the outlook is equally bleak. Its traffic plunged 95% even before the latest measures, prompting the London First lobby group to write to Sunak urging he act swiftly to safeguard the operator’s future.

The post U.K. Steps Up Mass Vaccination as Travel Corridors Close appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Brazil: COVID-19 Surge Overwhelms Amazonas Health Care System

Nurses talk in front of the 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus, Amazonas state, on January 14, 2021, as the city faces a shortage of oxygen supplies and hospital bed space.

CNN)Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday that “all means” are being made available to help the country’s largest state, Amazonas, where hospitals are running out of beds and oxygen tanks amid soaring coronavirus infections.

His claim came a day after Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello described the healthcare system in the Amazonas state capital, Manaus, as being in “collapse.”

“I would say yes, there is a collapse in healthcare in Manaus. The line to get a hospital bed has grown a lot, today we have about 480 people waiting in line. And the reality is that there is a lower supply of oxygen — not an interruption, but a lower supply of oxygen,” he said during a Facebook live with Bolsonaro on Thursday.

Doctors and nurses have been quoted in local news reports as saying patients are dying of asphyxiation in the city’s hospitals because of a lack of oxygen.

Bolsonaro posted on his official Facebook page Friday that “all means have been made available to the population of Manaus.”

Pazuello has been in Manaus for three days, the President said, and the federal government has provided “oxygen, supplies and patient transfers to federal hospitals.”

The Brazilian air force delivered six cylinders of liquid oxygen, totaling 9,300 kilograms, to Manaus early Friday. It also flew out nine patients and five doctors from Manaus to the city of Teresina, in the northeastern state of Piauí.

Speaking in Brasilia, Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourão said there was no way to foresee the collapse in the public health system and blamed a new variant of coronavirus that is circulating in the city.

“You cannot predict what would happen with this strain that is occurring in Manaus. Totally different from what had happened in the first half,” said Mourão.

Last September, research led by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) recommended a lockdown after confirming that Manaus was experiencing a second wave of the disease. The government of Amazonas denied the second wave of Covid cases at that time.

Manaus, globally known as the gateway to the Amazon region, also suffered badly in the first wave of the pandemic between April and May, when its public health and funeral systems collapsed.

Brazil’s Covid-19 death toll is the second highest in the world, behind only that of the United States. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 207,000 deaths from Covid-19 in Brazil and more than 8.3 million reported cases of coronavirus.

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report published Wednesday accused Bolsonaro of having “tried to sabotage public health measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19” earlier in the pandemic.

The Amazonas state government announced emergency measures Thursday — including a nighttime curfew, ban on mass transit and the airlifting of patients to other Brazilian states — as it grapples with the latest crisis.

“Today we are in the most critical moment of the pandemic, one that has no precedent in the state of Amazonas. We are facing a lot of difficulty in getting medical supplies. And as everyone is following, our main difficulty now has been getting oxygen,” Amazonas Gov. Wilson Lima told a news conference Thursday.

Demand for oxygen is up fivefold over the past 15 days, according to the state government.

Some 235 patients will be airlifted to five other Brazilian states, the state government tweeted Thursday. It said the transfers were necessary due to the state’s oxygen shortages.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Thursday he had spoken with Lima and had offered immediately to send oxygen tanks. “Latin American solidarity above all!” he tweeted. Lima responded: “The people of Amazonas thank you!”

Minister: Vaccinations to start ‘in January’

Covid-19 vaccinations have yet to get underway in Brazil, despite its strong track record on national vaccination programs.

Speaking Thursday, Pazuello said Brazil would begin to inoculate people in January but did not specify a date. 

“In January we will start vaccinating. In the beginning with 2, 6, or 8 million doses,” the health minister said. “And in February, we will have mass production, and our National Vaccination Program, which we’ve been doing for 45 years, will get ahead of everyone in the whole world, including the United States.”

The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) will meet on Sunday to decide whether to give emergency approvals to the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, according to the official news agency, Agencia Brasil.

Bolsonaro has publicly second-guessed the urgency of immunization, disparaging “the rush for a vaccine” in comments made last month.

“The pandemic is really reaching its end, the numbers have showed this, we are dealing with small rises now,” he said, according to CNN Brasil. “But the rush for the vaccine is not justified because you are playing with people’s lives.”

In its World Report 2021, Human Rights Watch recalled how the right-wing President repeatedly downplayed the danger posed by the coronavirus, by calling it “a little flu” and by spreading misleading information about the pandemic

Bolsonaro “refused to take measures to protect himself and the people around him; disseminated misleading information; and tried to block states from imposing social distancing rules,” said the report

“His administration attempted to withhold Covid-19 data from the public. He fired his health minister for defending World Health Organization recommendations, and the replacement health minister quit in opposition to the president’s advocacy of an unproven drug to treat Covid-19.”

Anna Livia Arida, Brazil’s associate director at Human Rights Watch, also recognized the role of other government institutions such as the Supreme Court and Congress in helping to “block many, although not all, of Bolsonaro’s anti-rights policies.”

Ministry defends record on rights

According to CNN Brasil, the country’s Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights issued a statement Wednesday arguing that the HRW report “ignores measures taken by the government to protect human rights during the pandemic.” 

The post Brazil: COVID-19 Surge Overwhelms Amazonas Health Care System appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Sydney paraglider plunges seconds into 100th flight

A 37-year-old paraglider has been rescued after plunging 50 metres onto a cliff edge south of Sydney.

Rohith Gowda was on his 100th flight at Bald Hill look out in Otford yesterday when he crashed in strong winds seconds after takeoff.

Mr Gowda fell 50 metres to a cliff face below, leaving the IT consultant from Rhodes clinging to shrubs, with another 150 metre drop directly below him.

Bald Hill lookout paraglider

READ MORE: Footage shows shocking moment paraglider slams into cliff

What followed was a three-hour mission involving a small army of rescuers.

Special Operations Paramedic Oliver Alemin was the first to reach Mr Gowda.

"He did have all his safety equipment on which saved his life – but the fact he was so high up," Mr Alemin said.

"He was just shaken up and in pain actually."

Mr Gowda was carefully winched to safety and taken by helicopter to St George Hospital with a fractured pelvis.

Bald Hill lookout paraglider

READ MORE: Paraglider pilot dies after crashing into cliff

The Bald Hill lookout is a popular location for daredevils but is known for its crashes.

In 2019, a 54-year-old father died in similar circumstances.

Speaking to 9News from his hospital bed, Mr Gowda thanked emergency services for their prompt response.

He said despite the scare he has plans to fly again soon.

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Six coronavirus cases now linked to Australian Open

Another four coronavirus cases, including one player, have been linked to the Australian Open taking the total associated with the tournament to six.

The rising numbers mean more people will likely to be forced to self-isolate in Melbourne's quarantine hotels.

The Department of Health and Human Services this afternoon confirmed the new cases were three males aged in their 30s and one male aged in their 50s.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today confirmed the new infections were in addition to the five cases which emerged from three flights over the weekend, bringing players, staff, officials and media to Australia.

All 15 charter flights have now arrived in Melbourne.

"All four are associated with the tennis, and they're all tucked away safely in hotel quarantine," he said.

"There's still plenty of time for two weeks of quarantine and a buffer that is built in before February 8 before the tournament starts, and we'll just have to be guided by the test results that come back from people who have been, by virtue of being on a flight with people who have tested positive, despite having tested negative before they got on the plane."

READ MORE: What you can and can't do on Australia Day as COVID-19 restrictions continue

Mr Andrews quickly shot down remarks from players requesting special treatment in hotel quarantine, including leniency on the rules and the duration of the quarantine period.

"The rules apply to them as they apply to everybody else, and they were all briefed on that before they came," he said.

"There's no special treatment here. Because the virus doesn't treat you specially. So neither do we."

The premier also hit back at the list of 'demands' given by Novak Djokovic, standing firm the rules would not be changed for anyone.

Djokovic reportedly wrote to the Australian Open boss with a raft of demands on behalf of players.

They included permission to visit a coach or trainer and to move as many players as possible to private residents with tennis courts.

"People are free to provide lists of demands," Mr Andrews said.

"But the answer is no. And that was very clearly put.

"We have Tennis Australia's full support in the rules and they were communicated to everybody involved in the event.

"It doesn't mean that everyone likes them, but that's not the world we're in.

"This is a wildly infectious pandemic. There are rules that need to be followed. They will not be changed. And that's the basis on which people came here."

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said the infected individuals were probably exposed to COVID-19 before they got on the flights.

"It does speak to how much transmission there is globally at the moment, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, that there are people who tested negative but were incubating the illness and tested positive subsequently," he said.

"That's why the rules are extremely strict for these tennis players and their entourage, as much as for any other international arrival.

"Everyone finds quarantine tough, but Victorians have copped this as much as anyone in the world.

"Victorians have done it tough, and they don't expect special rules for anyone else."

9News earlier revealed the fifth case was aboard a Qatar Airways flight QR7485, carrying players and officials that arrived from Doha at 5.30am on Saturday.

The positive test came from a passenger who was not a member of the playing contingent, Australian Open organisers said.

But all 58 passengers, including the 25 players on the flight, now cannot leave their hotel rooms for two weeks.

It means every other player on the plane is now considered a close contact and not eligible to leave their hotel room to train for five hours a day.

There are currently 72 players locked in their hotel rooms.

READ MORE: Berejiklian rebukes Victoria border block after Australian Open arrivals

The affected players include West Australian teenager Tristan Schoolkate.

https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1350789626705788929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The blow to the tournament comes as two players received official warnings after breaking the rules to open their hotel door to chat.

Other players have taken to social media to complain about conditions, including the quality of the food and even mice in their room.

Quarantined players who will now be unable to train for two weeks "are being supported to access equipment for their hotel rooms to help them maintain their fitness during this time", CQV said.

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Ride-share driver, passengers in horror crash identified

A man is fighting for life in hospital after a head-on crash in NSW's Upper Hunter Region left three people dead.

Just before 9.30pm yesterday emergency services were called to an accident on Bengalla Road at Muswellbrook after a Kia Carnival and a ute collided.

The male driver of the Kia has been identified as Rob Baker, a ride-share driver who spent his days and nights making sure people get home safely.

Three people have died, and another man is fighting for life after a head-on crash in NSW's Upper Hunter Region.Brad and Tracey Strachan were involved in a deadly crash in Muswellbrook. Brad is fighting for life in hospital while Tracey died at the scene.

Mr Baker was driving Brad and Tracey Strachan home from Muswellbrook last night.

Mr Baker and Mrs Strachan, a local teacher of more than 30 years, both died at the scene.

Mr Strachan, a Bengalla miner, was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital with life-threatening injuries. He remains on life support.

The driver and sole occupant of the ute – a 34-year-old man – also died at the scene.

Hunter Valley Police Chief Inspector Guy Guiana confirmed earlier Mr Baker was believed to be a ride-share driver and the two passengers are husband and wife.

The scene of the deadly crash in Muswellbrook. Mr Strachan, a Bengalla miner, was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital with life-threatening injuries, and he remains on life support.

"The gentleman in hospital does have life-threatening injuries," Chief Inspector Guiana said.

Initial investigations suggest one of the vehicles was travelling on the wrong side of the two-lane road.

"It's a head on collision, so yes, one of the vehicles must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time," Chief Inspector Guiana said.

Police from Hunter Valley Police District established a crime scene and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is underway.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner.

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Melbourne teacher dies saving stranger and his daughter

A Melbourne high school teacher who died saving a teenager and her father from drowning is being remembered as a hero by her distraught family.

Lisa Mandeltort drowned when a frantic mother ran up to her at Venus Bay last week when her daughter and partner were caught in a rip.

When Ms Mandeltort was approached by the distressed mother, she immediately volunteered to help.

"Look at me I'm in a swimsuit" was the science teacher's reaction her partner Bill told 9news.

The next he saw Ms Mandeltort, she was unconscious on the sand after trying to rescue the 14-year-old girl and her dad.

They made it out uninjured, but sadly Ms Mandeltort couldn't be saved.

"Life is really really bad now and that's what every day is now," Bill said though tears.

Minutes earlier the Rowville couple had been walking along the shore with their dogs after dinner.

Bill was then tasked with telling the 29-year-old's family about their sudden loss.

Linda Mandeltort, Lisa's mother, said she knew something was wrong.

"I knew before I spoke to Bill that she'd gone," she said.

"That's the girl we raised, from as early as I remember she was trying to save a bird or dog, it was her nature."

"I'm proud but sad she's gone … I always knew she'd do what she did but hopping into water … I was hoping she'd come out breathing," Lisa's father Michael said.

Ms Mandeltort's hugs left their mark on her loved ones, perhaps none more so than her sister Beck.

"From the force of love she would give you … she was so amazing this last year – as a critical care nurse it's been very stressful – she'd see how it's going and send me some care package," she said.

The environmentalist had travelled the world, but her true love was teaching and last year she became the head of science at Berwick's Nossal High, her family imploring students to try and achieve their best for the sake of their teacher.

Ms Mandeltort was one of three Victorians to drown in a single day and one of 38 in the past six months.

Her family's only hope now is that others don't overestimate their ability around the water.

"So people like her don't have to do that again," Linda said.

Surf Lifesaving Victoria said drownings are largely preventable and encouraged people to be aware of the dangers before they head out to the coast .

Mr Mandeltort said he wished his daughter was still with them.

"I would rather her be a coward and be here with me. So would we all," he said.

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Trump to issue 'around 100 pardons'

President Donald Trump is believed to be preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office.

The White House held a meeting on Sunday to finalise the list of pardons, which include white collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others but – as of now – is not expected to include Trump himself, two sources said.

Trump, who had been rolling out pardons and commutations at a steady clip ahead of Christmas, had put a pause on them in the days leading up to and directly after the January 6 riots at the US Capitol, according to officials.

READ MORE: Donald Trump announces wave of pardons

Donald Trump becomes the third US President to be impeached as he addresses a Republican rally in Michigan.

Aides said Trump was singularly focused on the Electoral College count in the days ahead of time, precluding him for making final decisions on pardons.

White House officials had expected them to resume after January 6, but Trump retreated after he was blamed for inciting the riots.

Initially, two major batches had been ready to roll out, one at the end of last week and one on Tuesday.

Now, officials expect the last batch to be the only one – unless Trump decides at the last minute to grant pardons to controversial allies, members of his family or himself.

READ MORE: Trump can, and just might, pardon himself: John Bolton

The final batch of clemency actions is expected to include a mix of criminal justice reform-minded pardons and more controversial ones secured or doled out to political allies.

The pardons are one of several items Trump must complete before his presidency ends in days.

White House officials also still have executive orders prepared, and the President is still hopeful to declassify information related to the Russia probe before he leaves office.

But with a waning number of administration officials still in jobs, the likelihood that any of it gets done seemed to be shrinking.

The January 6 riots that led to Trump's second impeachment have complicated his desire to pardon himself, his kids and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

At this point, aides do not think he will do so, but caution only Trump knows what he will do with his last bit of presidential power before he is officially out of office at noon on January 20.

President Trump will leave the White House before Biden sworn in

After the riots, advisers encouraged Trump to forgo a self-pardon because it would appear like he was guilty of something, according to one person familiar with the conversations.

Several of Trump's closest advisers have also urged him not to grant clemency to anyone involved in the siege on the US Capitol, despite Trump's initial stance that those involved had done nothing wrong.

"There are a lot of people urging the President to pardon the folks" involved in the insurrection, Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham said Sunday on Fox News.

"To seek a pardon of these people would be wrong."

One White House official said paperwork had not yet been drawn up for a self-pardon.

Still, Trump is expected to leave the White House on January 20 and could issue pardons up until noon on Inauguration Day.

Other attention-grabbing names, like Julian Assange, are also not currently believed to be among the people receiving pardons, but the list is still fluid and that could change, too.

It's also not certain whether Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon will receive a pardon.

Trump is still receiving multiple streams of recommendations on pardons from those advisers who remain at the White House, as well as people outside the building who have been lobbying for months for themselves or their clients.

The expectation among allies is that Trump will issue pardons that he could benefit from post presidency.

"Everything is a transaction. He likes pardons because it is unilateral. And he likes doing favours for people he thinks will owe him," one source familiar with the matter said.

Inside the White House, there has been a scramble to petition for pardons on behalf of allies and advocacy groups and names could be added and taken off up until the last minute, sources say.

CNN previously reported there has been a crush of pardon requests during Trump's final days in office from allies, lobbyists and others hoping to cash in on their loyalty to Trump.

The New York Times reported Sunday some of those people were getting paid tens of thousands of dollars to lobby on behalf of felons hoping for pardons.