Despite the large increase of Covid-19 cases, there are no new UK travel updates prohibiting the admittance of international students. This may be due to the fact that the UK has rebounded strongly in terms of welcoming international students since international borders were shut in March 2020. It had a record number of new international students now in 2021, 38% higher than pre-Covid.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not impose any more Covid limitations in England or any UK travel updates until 2022, allowing major events to take place and nightclubs to remain open on New Year’s Eve, although ministers will reconsider if additional measures are required in January.
Experts slammed the announcement, which came as England reported the largest number of Covid infections in its history, with over 1,00,000 cases on Christmas Day. They claimed it was the “biggest gap between scientific advice and policy” observed since the outbreak began.
“We won’t be taking any further measures. Of course, people should remain cautious as we approach new year celebrations and take a lateral flow test if that makes sense, celebrate outdoors if you can, have some ventilation indoors if you can,” said Sajid Javid, the health secretary.
The Prime Minister reinforced his plea for prudence in a series of tweets on Monday night. As the new variant spreads rapidly, England recorded 98,515 new cases on Monday (December 3), following a record total of 113,628 infections on Christmas Day and 103,893 on Boxing Day, however, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has warned repeatedly that information will be wildly inaccurate during the holiday season as test methods and hospitalization trends alter.
Border restrictions and additional travel procedures have impacted international students all over the world as countries strive to limit the pandemic. Because of the quickly changing scenario, these measures are changing by the hour, creating uncertainty for students wishing to study abroad. In reaction to the Omicron strain, UK ministers have rushed to get 114 million extra vaccines for the next two years.
As the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread across Europe, several European countries have reported record high Covid-19 cases. On December 28, Britain recorded a record 1,29,471 new cases of Covid-19, excluding Northern Ireland and Scotland.
On December 24, the previous record high for daily infections was 1,22,186.
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