(CNN) — After practically 20 months of closed borders, the US lastly opened to vaccinated worldwide guests on Monday, November 8.
However transatlantic journey stays an ever altering panorama, with this week additionally seeing extra European locations added to the CDC’s highest threat journey class.
And as European Covid circumstances proceed to climb, one central European nation is contemplating a lockdown for its unvaccinated inhabitants.
Here is what it is advisable find out about pandemic journey this week:
1. The US opened to vaccinated worldwide vacationers
The US opened its borders to vaccinated worldwide vacationers after practically 20 months. CNN spent the day in three US airports speaking to vacationers and their households about what it is like to have the ability to see each other once more.
That features vacationers coming from beforehand banned international locations together with the UK, in addition to EU locations.
To mark the event, Monday morning noticed British Airways and Virgin Atlantic be a part of forces to coordinate a historic twin airplane take-off.
The rival transatlantic airways scheduled two A350 plane to depart London Heathrow on the similar time, with BA christening its flight BA001, a quantity normally reserved for the historic Concorde.
2. Thanksgiving journey is anticipated to rebound
Many households are coming collectively this vacation season for the primary time in a very long time. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares these recommendations on how you can shield your family members from getting Covid-19.
For a lot of, the return of worldwide journey to the US means long-awaited household reunions, and a few vacationers shall be timing their journey with Thanksgiving on November 25.
Whereas Thanksgiving 2020 concerned hunkering down at house, the American Car Affiliation (AAA) predicts 2021 journey will rebound near pre-pandemic ranges. Some 53.4 million Individuals are anticipated to journey for the vacation — a 13% enhance from final 12 months.
Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and spokesperson for airplane tracker firm Flight Conscious, shared her suggestions for making certain vacation journey goes easily, together with reserving flights that depart early within the day to keep away from a cascading impact of delays and cancellations, and even reserving a back-up flight for additional peace of thoughts.
3. The Netherlands has moved to the CDC’s highest-risk class
The Netherlands landed within the CDC’s highest threat class for journey this week.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Photographs
Whereas transatlantic journey is likely to be again on the desk, it is not with out its problems.
This week the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention added two northwestern European international locations to its record of “very excessive” threat journey locations.
Nations are designated Stage 4 if they’ve had greater than 500 circumstances per 100,000 residents previously 28 days. The CDC recommends folks keep away from touring to Stage 4 international locations, and advises that anybody who should journey must be absolutely vaccinated first.
There’s been a surge of circumstances throughout Europe just lately, which a WHO official mentioned is “of grave concern.”
4. Austria considers implementing a lockdown for unvaccinated folks
Unvaccinated folks in Austria are already banned from sure public locations, together with leisure venues, eating places and hairdressers.
In keeping with Johns Hopkins knowledge, 64.3% of Austria’s inhabitants is absolutely vaccinated. On Thursday November 11, the Austrian chancellor Alexander Schallenberg known as the vaccination fee “shamefully low.”
Individuals stroll amongst Christmas lights on November 12, 2021, close to Stephanplatz in Vienna, Austria.
Georg Hochmuth/AFP through Getty Photographs
“A lockdown for the unvaccinated means one can not go away one’s house until one goes to work, looking for necessities, stretching one’s legs — specifically precisely what all of us needed to endure via in 2020,” he mentioned.
Schallenberg is pushing for this measure to be put in place ASAP.
5. Haunting picture of coastal erosion wins Environmental Photographer of the 12 months 2021
This week, the winners of this 12 months’s Environmental Photographer of the 12 months awards had been introduced on the COP26 Local weather Summit in Glasgow.
“I am very blissful. It is an enormous honor to win such an essential prize,” Aragón informed CNN. “Particularly one which’s associated to the setting, which is a subject I have been engaged on for a number of years and which I am very frightened about.”
6. Myanmar plans to reopen to vacationers, elevating one large query
Myanmar is coping with the pandemic and the aftereffects of a coup.
Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Photographs
The Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar plans to welcome again worldwide vacationers from early 2022, amid a posh home state of affairs.
“We’re planning to reopen tourism for vaccinated vacationers if plans are well-prepared for secure and handy journey,” Zeyar Htun, deputy director of the Public Relations and Info Division on the military-run Ministry of Lodges & Tourism, confirmed to CNN Journey.
7. Some vacationers are turning their again on airplanes
Anna Hughes is the director of Flight Free UK, a marketing campaign group that promotes various types of journey past aviation.
Because the group begins to encourage folks to signal a pledge to stay flight free for 2022, there are “two distinct camps” of vacationers, in accordance with Hughes.
CNN’s Marnie Hunter, Joseph Ataman, Chris Liakos, Anna Cooban, Chris Isidore, Geneva Sands, Julia Buckley, Forrest Brown, Rob Picheta, Sharon Braithwaite, Tara John, Nadine Schmidt, Lilit Marcus and Jeevan Ravindran contributed reporting
