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Europe moves to isolate Britain, where mutated virus causes Christmas chaos (nationthailand.com)

Europe moves to isolate Britain, where mutated virus causes Christmas chaos

InternationalDec 22. 2020Passengers walk toward the check-in area at London Heathrow Airport in London on Dec. 19, 2020. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Chris Ratcliffe 

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Priscila Azevedo Rocha, Kitty Donaldson

Britain plunged into Christmas chaos with police blocking people from boarding packed trains, holidays abroad scrapped and travel with Europe banned after London went into an emergency lockdown.

France on Sunday suspended inbound travel from the U.K. for 48 hours and Germany halted arriving flights from Britain, which is in the middle of delicate Brexit negotiations with its European Union partners. Those talks are still at a critical stage after the weekend.

In a sudden turnaround, Prime Minister Boris Johnson canceled plans to allow families to see one another over the festive period as the government warned that a new strain of the coronavirus is “out of control.” There were scenes of panic at train stations, with people defying social-distancing rules to get out of the capital before the new rules took effect on Sunday.

Ireland banned flights with the British mainland at least until Tuesday. Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium halted air, train or ferry links earlier.

France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen discussed the health situation in the U.K. as well as Brexit.

For the U.K., it’s a double body blow, leaving the country potentially isolated with the pandemic still wreaking havoc. Its departure from the EU has been punctuated by a souring relationship with its neighbors, while this latest twist has its once-close partners putting up the shutters.

It will also unleash more damage to struggling European airlines. The country was the busiest in the region on Saturday with more than 2,200 flights, according to Eurocontrol.

More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home after new restrictions came into force in London and southeast England. The measures ban household mixing in the capital and the southeast, and restrict socializing to just Christmas Day across the rest of England.

For many Britons trying to see relatives or go on a winter vacation, the restrictions are a reminder of the last nationwide lockdown and will add to the burden of contending with a virus that is still dangerous, even with vaccines being rolled out into the population.

This is the latest U-turn from a government that has been reluctant to impose limits to movement, unless forced. Until Friday, Johnson was adamant that close households would be able to mix over Christmas. There is some unease among his Conservative rank-and-file lawmakers.

One Tory member of Parliament, Charles Walker, expressed dismay that the government had “pulled the plug” on Christmas in what is a clearly politically sensitive time. U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge earlier this morning that the government had little choice because “this is deadly serious.”

While it is normal for viruses to mutate and several strains of the virus that causes covid-19 have emerged, the one said to have triggered the tighter curbs on London may be as much as 70% more transmissible than others currently circulating, preliminary analysis in the U.K. shows.

The World Health Organization is working to understand the extent to which the virus may spread more easily, along with other human behavioral factors that may be driving transmission, Maria van Kerkhove, the body’s technical lead on covid-19, told the BBC Sunday. She said that current information suggests that the new variant doesn’t have any impact on the vaccines being rolled out.

While London’s Heathrow airport was crowded Sunday morning as dozens of planes departed, an 11:45 a.m. KLM service to Amsterdam left empty, according to a spokeswoman for the hub. Two later British Airways flights to the Dutch city were canceled. Most other operations at the airport were shown to be on schedule.

France will suspend all travel from the U.K. from midnight for 48 hours while EU members coordinate on the matter, Junior Transportation Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri on LCI TV.

Germany is banning inbound flights from the U.K., Health Minister Jens Spahn told broadcaster ARD. The Transportation Ministry in Berlin cited an EU directive that could keep the suspension in place until Dec. 31.

The bans are very concerning, the Heathrow spokeswoman said. The airport just had one of its busiest weeks since the first U.K. lockdown as people caught flights in the buildup to Christmas, and there are large numbers still due to travel, she said.

A spokesman for Schiphol airport in Amsterdam said planes arriving from London on Sunday were essentially empty. Deutsche Lufthansa AG has canceled crew layovers in the U.K. and is weighing further actions.

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. is reviewing its flight schedule in light of the Tier 4 restrictions. Customers on flights that are still scheduled will have the option to rebook, though like British Airways the airline is only offering cash refunds when it cancels a flight. easyJet PLC said it’s operating its schedule back to the U.K.

Eurostar International Ltd., which operates passenger trains through the Channel Tunnel, will scrap services from London to Brussels Monday. Even before the new curbs, Eurostar had been operating a minimal service of one train a day in each direction on most routes to allow for emergency travel. Anyone leaving London faced quarantining on their return as well as possible restrictions at their destination.

In the meantime, officers are increasing patrols and focusing on popular spots in the capital.

“Officers across London will pay particular attention to those groups who have willfully ignored the rules, putting communities and lives at risk,” the Metropolitan Police said.

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Britain confronts threat of food crisis as virus blocks trade (nationthailand.com)

Britain confronts threat of food crisis as virus blocks trade

InternationalDec 22. 2020A sign reads “French Borders Closed” on Dec. 21, 2020, in Dover, England, where Britain’s biggest port stopped all traffic heading to Europe, triggering delays to food supplies after the discovery of a new variant of the virus prompted a wave of countries to ban travel from Britain. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Chris Ratcliffe 

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Alex Morales, Christopher Jasper, Siddharth Philip, Lizzy Burden

Britain confronted threats of food insecurity and panicked shopping days before Christmas as European nations restricted trade and travel to guard against a resurgent coronavirus, offering Britain a preview of the border chaos to come in the absence of a Brexit deal.

Fearing a fast-spreading new strain of the virus that forced a strict lockdown across England, France on Sunday suspended travel from the U.K. for 48 hours and Germany halted arriving flights from Britain. The crisis gave renewed urgency to negotiations for a trade deal with the European Union that remained at a critical stage after weekend talks.

The Port of Dover late Sunday halted freight moved by truck into France while allowing unaccompanied cargo to keep moving. Though traffic into the U.K. is unaffected, truckers often run supplies in both directions and the latest outbreak in the heart of the country may discourage them from entering Britain.

The disruptions are exposing Britain’s trade vulnerabilities just as a 4 1/2-year odyssey to leave the EU moves from political rhetoric to economic reality. Business groups facing catastrophic losses urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to act soon, with the 18,000-member Logistics UK calling for rapid coronavirus testing of truckers departing the country as the quickest way of protecting supply chains.

“This is the nightmare before Christmas,” said James Withers, chief executive officer at the Scotland Food & Drink industry group.

He said there are more than 100 trucks laden with seafood due to cross the border into the EU, bound for Christmas wholesale markets in France and Spain that would normally be held on Wednesday. Fears are growing that live shellfish will spoil if they’re held up at the border, and the government needs to act today to ensure that the freight can keep moving, Withers said.

French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said European nations are working on “a solid health protocol” to be implemented “in the coming hours” so trade flows from the U.K. can resume.

“Our priority: protect our nationals and fellow citizens,” he said on Twitter.

Container ports and ferry terminals were already congested because of stockpiling ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline marking a final break from the European single market.

The border chaos comes at the tail end of a year that’s seen Johnson nearly die of the virus and come under heavy criticism over his response to the pandemic — which has seen the U.K. suffer the worst hit to output of any major economy as well as a death toll second only to Italy in Europe.

British supermarket chain J Sainsbury Plc said it is considering using airfreight for products sourced from Europe. If the situation doesn’t change, Sainsbury will start to see “gaps” in the coming days sourcing some fruits and vegetables, said Victoria Durman, head of corporate communications.

Outside Dover, trucks began lining up on the M20 motorway as the “Operation Stack” emergency plan was triggered with drivers unable to board ferries. The Department for Transport was also preparing Manston airport in Kent, which is being overhauled to accommodate as many as 4,000 vehicles as part of Britain’s no-deal planning, according to the kent.gov.uk website.

Richard Ballantyne, chief executive officer of the British Ports Association, urged travelers to follow the advice of their carriers. “There could be a period of disruption at some of the U.K.’s ferry ports for the next 48 hours,” he said. “We are confident that the U.K. will continue to be supplied.”

U.K. travel, leisure and retail shares slumped on Monday as flights were canceled, while stay-at-home stocks, like Ocado Group Plc, got a boost. Airlines that were expecting a lift around the festive period were among the worst hit, with British Airways parent IAG SA falling as much as 20% and easyJet PLC down as much as 18%.

Economists at Berenberg cut their 2021 growth forecast for the U.K. just last week to 7.3% from 8% because of new lockdowns. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps sought to downplay the urgency of the situation, telling Sky News the short straits between Dover and Calais account for about 20% of goods to and from the country.

“It’s not the mainstay. Most goods actually come in and out by unaccompanied containers, and those will continue to flow,” he said. “We obviously don’t want these links to be closed for too long, but it’s not unusual for them to be closed and disrupted.”

Asked about the vaccine, he said “virtually all” of it comes across via containers and is unaffected by the stoppage at Dover. Shapps said the French have told U.K. authorities they want to restart haulers crossing the channel “as quickly as possible.”

Still, the economic drag of tougher lockdown and trade turmoil will only deepen the hole the country is in, unleashing more damage stretching from mom-and-pop retailers to already struggling European airlines.

Johnson abruptly canceled plans to allow families to mix over the holiday period as the government warned over the weekend that the new strain of the virus is “out of control.” There were scenes of panic at train stations, with people defying social-distancing rules to get out of the capital.

More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home, mainly in London and southeast England.The measures ban household mixing in the capital and the southeast, and restrict socializing to just Christmas Day across the rest of England.

Until Friday, Johnson was adamant that close households would be able to mix over Christmas. It was the latest U-turn from a government that has been reluctant to impose limits to movement, unless forced. There is some unease among his Conservative rank-and-file lawmakers.

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Congressional leaders agree on nearly $900 billion coronavirus relief package (nationthailand.com)

Congressional leaders agree on nearly $900 billion coronavirus relief package

InternationalDec 21. 2020

By The Washington Post · Jeff Stein, Mike DeBonis

WASHINGTON – Senate leadership announced a bipartisan deal on an approximately $900 billion economic relief package late Sunday afternoon that would deliver emergency aid to a faltering economy and a nation besieged by surging coronavirus cases.

After months of contentious negotiations and seemingly intractable partisan gridlock, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. took to the Senate floor to say a deal had been finalized and could be approved quickly.

The emerging stimulus package was expected to direct hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to jobless Americans, ailing businesses and other critical economic needs that have grown as the pandemic ravages the country and batters the economy.

“More help is on the way,” McConnell said. “Moments ago, in consultation with our committees, the four leaders of the Senate and House finalized an agreement. It would be another major rescue package for the American people. As our citizens continue battling this coronavirus pandemic this holiday season, they will not be fighting alone.”

Schumer then took to the floor, calling the aid package insufficient but heralding it as a critical measure to “give the new president a boost, a head start, as he prepared to right our ailing economy.”

The House and the Senate on Sunday night approved a one-day extension of government funding to allow the final bill text on the relief package to be written. President Donald Trump signed the stopgap measure late Sunday night, preventing a government shutdown.

The legislation includes stimulus checks for millions of Americans of up to $600 per person. The size of that benefit would be reduced for people who earned more than $75,000 in 2019 and disappear altogether for those who earned more than $99,000. The stimulus checks would provide $600 per adult and child, meaning a family of four would receive $2,400 up to a certain income.

Congress would also extend federal unemployment benefits of up to $300 per week, which could start as early as Dec. 27.

The income criteria for the stimulus checks is expected to reflect that of the first round of relief payments sent by the Treasury Department this year.

Adult dependents are not expected to qualify for the stimulus payments, people familiar with the negotiations said, despite a push from congressional Democrats. The deal would include stimulus payments for families in which one of the parents is not a citizen, but not for undocumented immigrants themselves.

The deal to extend federal jobless benefits for millions of unemployed Americans at a level of $300 per week would cover up to 11 weeks of unemployment through March 14, aides familiar with the negotiations said. An unemployment benefits program for contract and gig workers, which is also set to expire at the end of the year, would be extended over the same period for those workers.

A compromise proposal reached earlier this month by Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., among other centrist lawmakers, would have provided 16 weeks in unemployment benefits instead of the 11 weeks under the current agreement. It was unclear why congressional leaders slashed the duration of unemployment benefits in their latest agreement.

Negotiators also agreed to extend the deadline for states and cities to use unspent money approved for them by the Cares Act, two people familiar with internal deliberations said. States and cities have until the end of the year to spend billions of dollars before it expires and has to be returned to the federal government. The deal would instead extend that deadline for a full year.

Republicans have successfully opposed Democrats in their demands for hundreds of billions of dollars in state and local aid. Many local governments are experiencing steep declines in tax revenue and have been warning of layoffs. Extending the deadline for using leftover local government funding from the Cares Act allows Democratic lawmakers to say they still provided some relief to ailing municipalities.

The agreement also leaves out a liability shield to protect businesses from virus-related lawsuits, which McConnell had previously demanded as a precondition for a deal.

The agreement would extend for one month a moratorium on evictions that is set to expire at the end of the year, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The moratorium would be extended through January, at which point Democrats believe the incoming Biden administration can extend it again if necessary. The legislation would provide about $25 billion in emergency assistance to renters, the people said, though it remained unclear how that money would be disbursed.

The single biggest expenditure in the legislation is about $325 billion in business relief, including about $275 billion for another round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding. The legislation also includes $45 billion for transportation needs, such as state transportation departments and Amtrak; $82 billion for schools; $20 billion for vaccine distribution; and $13 billion for a major expansion in food stamps.

The agreement also included $1.4 billion in new funding for Trump’s border wall with Mexico and new border security technology, according to House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

The bill also includes a tax break for corporate meal expenses lobbied for by the White House and denounced by congressional Democrats, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Trump has for months talked about securing the deduction – derisively referred to as the “three-martini lunch” by critics – as a way to revive the restaurant industry battered by the pandemic. Critics say the measure, led by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., will do little to help ailing restaurants but will reduce firms’ tax obligations.

Lawmakers had also appeared to resolve a dispute over whether businesses that received PPP loans, and would have them forgiven, and would allowed deductions of the costs covered by those loans on their federal tax returns. Those costs would be deductible under a final agreement so long as a PPP recipient could show a loss in revenue in 2020 compared with prior years, according to a lawmaker briefed on the deal.

It may take more time for congressional staff members to draft those agreements into legislative text and prepare the massive bill for votes in the House and Senate. Lawmakers had not released text of the agreement between senior Democrats and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., over the central bank, which was a sticking point Saturday.

Toomey initially demanded that a stimulus package prohibit the expiring lending programs, or anything “similar” to them, from being re-created in the future. He ultimately agreed to Schumer’s compromise, which steered away from barring programs “similar” to the ones that expire this year and instead applies more narrowly to the same programs.

The spending bill also includes a measure protecting patients from “surprise” medical bills. These bills – which can total tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars – can result when a patient through no fault of their own gets care from a doctor or hospital outside their health plan’s network, often surrounding emergency care.

Under the provision, doctors and hospitals may no longer charge patients the extra out-of-network costs not covered by their insurance plan. Instead, a third-party arbiter would decide the payment for these bills.