In Brief: UK: No plans to cut isolation period

LONDON • Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has no plans to further reduce the isolation period for people with Covid-19, even as staff absences put growing pressure on the UK's health service and supply chains.

The government lowered the quarantine requirement in England - the United Kingdom's other devolved administrations make their own health policy - to seven days from 10 last week, but is facing calls to go further after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention shortened its recommendation to five days.

The government wants to ensure the recent change "is working as we believe it ought to", UK minister Chloe Smith told the BBC on Wednesday. There are no current plans to amend it, she said.

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ATHENS • Greece introduced new restrictions on the hospitality sector yesterday, bringing forward measures planned for next month as coronavirus infections surged. The health authorities reported on Wednesday that daily confirmed Covid-19 cases had jumped by more than 7,000 to 28,828, a new record, with 72 deaths.

The authorities said the highly contagious Omicron variant appeared to be dominant in the community, barely a month after it was first detected. Bars, nightclubs and restaurants will be forced to close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music, with the exception of New Year's Eve today, when they can stay open until 2am.

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PARIS • People in Paris will be required to wear masks outside beginning today, in an effort to slow the spread of new Covid-19 infections, the French police said on Wednesday.

The order, which applies to everyone over the age of 11, was needed because of the surge in cases in the city of the Omicron variant, the police said. There are exceptions to the rule, including for cyclists, people in cars and those practising a sport.

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MADRID • Spain has reduced the isolation period for people who have tested positive for Covid-19 to seven days from 10, the Health Ministry said, even as new infections hit record highs. The decision follows similar moves by countries such as the United States and Britain.

A lack of staff due to long isolation times has caused disruptions to some industries even though many of those who test positive are asymptomatic. The mandatory quarantine for close contacts of people who have tested positive was reduced to seven days.

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ROME • Italy has eased coronavirus quarantine rules and imposed a vaccine mandate for most activities in a bid to keep essential services running, after the country recorded a record number of cases for consecutive days.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government has lifted its quarantine requirement completely for people who come into contact with a Covid-19 case as long as they have had three vaccine doses, according to a statement.

Isolation time will also be cut to five days, from seven, for vaccinated people whose most recent dose was more than 120 days before exposure, it said. Non-vaccinated people will be required to isolate for 10 days.

BLOOMBERG

BRUSSELS • The Belgian authorities on Wednesday confirmed the reopening of theatres and cinemas after a court victory for the cultural sector against a shutdown aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron variant.

A top court had ruled on Tuesday that entertainment venues were being unfairly singled out.

The government was forced to backtrack on measures introduced last week after protests by the cultural sector, which was angry it was being made to close its doors while bars and restaurants were allowed to keep working. The authorities said a maximum of 200 seated people would be allowed into each venue, face masks were obligatory and those attending would have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

SYDNEY • Australia yesterday narrowed its definition of close contacts of coronavirus cases and relaxed requirements for Covid-19 tests, as daily cases topped 20,000 for the first time in the pandemic, in a bid to relieve pressure on testing sites. The rules are being relaxed to stop asymptomatic people being forced into isolation, especially in healthcare, hospitality and airlines, and cut long lines of people forced to get PCR tests for interstate travel or because they have been at a public site with a confirmed case.

The proposed rules mean health officials will rely more on at-home rapid antigen tests, while PCR tests will be used for people with Covid-19 symptoms and the vulnerable.

REUTERS