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Poland follows Sweden into the UK's 'red zone' as second wave spreads

poland - istock
poland - istock

With cases rising, Poland has now joined Sweden in entering the 'red zone' of the system used by the UK to determine whether a country is taken off its quarantine-exempt list.

Countries in which the number of infections surpasses 20 per 100,000 citizens over seven days risk losing their air corridor status under the FCDO's guidance. Poland today reached 20.1, while Sweden has seen its case rate double in the past week to 26.3.

As it stands, Spain leads with by far the highest rate of 162.9. In Italy, currently at 19.1, there has been a slow, steady increase rather than a spike. Greece is at 21, Portugal at 47.8, and the UK is at 58.4.

Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, tells Telegraph Travel: “The resurgence of Covid-19 is sweeping across more countries in Europe as colder weather approaches and people go back to working or being educated indoors. We could see Poland and Sweden added to the quarantine list if cases rise substantially this week, depending on testing positivity levels.

“Yet, in destinations where summer is approaching again, such as South Africa and Australia, cases are falling. Let’s hope they drop far enough to open safe corridors again and re-energise long-haul travel.”

There are now just nine destinations Britons can visit that don’t include some form of test or restriction, including Sweden, Italy and Germany.

Scroll down for more of the latest updates.


04:05 PM

What we learnt today

A recap of the top stories:

  • Demand for holidays in Turkey soars as travel map shrinks for Britons
  • Poland and Sweden enter 'red zone' as cases surge
  • Study on Brazil's Amazon suggests immunity to Covid-19 doesn't last
  • Après-ski is off the menu as Austrian government clamps down
  • Netherlands coronavirus cases reach new record high

Thank you for joining us, and we'll see you tomorrow for more


03:40 PM

France coronavirus news: Alarm over spread of Covid-19 in schools and universities

Schools and universities have become a major source of new Covid-19 infections in France, accounting for about a third of clusters detected in the past few days, David Chazan reports from Paris.

Until last week, many of the country’s new coronavirus cases had originated in workplaces. But Public Health France says the spread of Covid-19 is now accelerating faster in schools and universities, with 285 clusters compared with 195 in workplaces.

Many teachers have complained that restrictions have been eased in schools and universities while they are being tightened for bars, rest and social gatherings.

The government, however, says only 19 schools are now closed because pupils or staff have caught the virus, compared with about 2,000 ten days ago. Jean-Michel Blanquer, the education minister, said: “This indicates that barrier measures are working and rules are being followed.”

The official figures group schools and universities together, but doctors are demanding a separate tally for universities. They argue that students are more likely to transmit the virus than schoolchildren and the start of the university term has increased the risk.

Read the full story here.


03:30 PM

Does England's new 10pm curfew make any sense?

Not according to Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who points to care homes as accounting for the lion's share of the spread:


03:15 PM

Qatar Airways posts record loss

Qatar Airways has today reported a $1.92 billion (£1.5bn) loss for the last financial year, in what the carrier describes as "the most challenging period in global aviation’s history." The previous year, Qatar's loss was $639 million (£501m).

The company blames the pandemic, along with its liquidation of shares in Air Italy and the ongoing boycott of Doha, its base, by four Arab nations on political grounds; Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The drop in demand following the Covid-19 outbreak led Qatar to shed thousands of staff members and ground its Airbus A380s. “It is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market,” the airline said in a statement.


03:00 PM

How to get travel insurance should you choose to ignore Foreign Office advice

Contrary to popular belief, you can visit a country to which the Foreign Office (FCO) advises against travel without invalidating your insurance – you just need to contact one of the few providers willing to offer cover, writes Oliver Smith. What’s more, it shouldn’t cost much more than an ordinary policy. 

Holidays to some parts of Europe and a few long-haul countries currently have FCO approval. But that still leaves the majority of the planet (including France, Portugal, Spain, Croatia and several Greek islands) off-limits. 

Travelling against official government advice is not illegal, but most tour operators will not offer trips to destinations which the FCO deems unsafe – in normal circumstances, that means places like Iraq and Afghanistan; in these strange times, it means just about everywhere – and most travel insurers won’t provide cover. 

But some do, including – as of last month – Staysure. It claims to be the first major UK insurance brand to introduce policies “specifically designed to support those who choose to travel to European destinations where the FCO has advised against all but essential trips due to Covid-19”. Which means it won’t offer cover for, say, Yemen, but it will for Tenerife or the south of France. 

Read on here.


02:45 PM

A snapshot of Europe's cases

According to today's figures, Spain has the highest number of cases, followed by the Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands. Turkey and Cyprus are looking reasonably safe. Germany and South Africa are in the amber zone:


02:30 PM

Study on Brazil's Amazon suggests immunity to Covid-19 doesn't last

The largest city in Brazil’s Amazon has closed bars and river beaches to contain a fresh surge of coronavirus cases, a trend that may dash theories that Manaus was one of the world’s first places to reach herd immunity, Reuters reports – or that immunity doesn't last.

University of Sao Paulo researchers had suggested that a drastic fall in Covid-19 deaths in Manaus pointed to collective immunity at work, but they also believe that antibodies to the disease after infection may not last more than a few months.

Local authorities on Friday enforced a 30-day ban on parties and other gatherings, and restricted restaurant and shopping hours, a setback for the city of 1.8 million after the worst of the pandemic seemed to be behind them.

In April and May, the city never imposed a full lockdown; non-essential businesses were closed but many simply ignored social distancing guidelines.

Then in June, deaths unexpectedly plummeted. Public health experts wondered whether so many residents had caught the virus that it had run out of new people to infect. Research posted last week to medRxiv, a website distributing unpublished papers on health science, estimated that 44 per cent to 66 per cent of the Manaus population was infected between the peak in mid-May and August.

Daily burials and cremations fell from a peak of 277 on May 1 to just 45 in mid-September, according to the mayor’s office. Now the numbers are on the rise again.

The Sao Paulo University study said coronavirus antibodies appeared to wane after just a few months, which could explain the resurgence in Manaus.

“Something that became evident in our study - and that is also being shown by other groups - is that antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 decay quickly, a few months after infection,” one of its authors, Leis Buss, said in a statement by the São Paulo research foundation FAPESP that accompanied the paper.

Manaus - getty

02:15 PM

Museums told to stop pulling down statues or risk funding cuts

Government-funded museums and galleries that remove statues or other artefacts as a result of pressure from campaigners risk jeopardising their taxpayer support, the Culture Secretary has warned.

In a letter leaked to The Telegraph, Oliver Dowden told organisations including the British Museum, Tate galleries, and Imperial War museums that the Government "does not support the removal of statues or other similar objects", and that he expected publicly-funded venues to follow suit.

Mr Dowden said it was "imperative" that publicly funded bodies "act impartially", particularly as the Chancellor embarks on a "challenging" review of all Whitehall spending.

Edward Malnick has more.

british museum - JULIAN SIMMONDS

02:00 PM

'My 24 hours in nearly empty Rome was a glorious revelation'

No queues, no rush: now is the best time to go to the Italian capital, says Sasha Slater:

I was walking down Via Condotti, the smartest shopping street in Rome, towards the Piazza di Spagna, when I noticed something weird. The Spanish Steps were almost empty. Usually, they are so thronged with tourists and street sellers trying to shift individually wrapped roses that you can’t see the steps themselves at all. But here they were, in the middle of the afternoon, fully visible just as Keats would have seen them in 1820. They weren’t the only revelation. Earlier in the day, I’d strolled into the Vatican Museum, past a small group of tourists. I’d booked tickets in advance, but only the day before, and didn’t have to wait in line at all before I wafted into the Papal palace to admire the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Maps and, of course, the Sistine Chapel. 

Read her full report here.


01:53 PM

Netherlands coronavirus cases reach new record high

The single-day coronavirus caseload in the Netherlands has reached a record high, with health authorities confirming 2,995 new infections.

Coronavirus cases have reached record levels on a number of occasions since mid-September, with a previous high of 2,777 reported on Friday.Eight new deaths with Covid-19 have also been logged, taking the Netherlands' death toll to 6,374.

More than 100 people are in intensive care with Covid-19 in the Netherlands for the first time since June.

As the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region prepares stricter new measures. Dutch society is divided over the country's Covid curbs. A significant minority would like all restrictions lifted but others feel that the existing rules do not go far enough.


01:30 PM

15 of Italy's hidden hilltop gems - and you'll have them pretty much to yourself

From Urbino, with its Renaissance art, to San Daniele, famous for its prosciutto, this is Italy at its autumnal best, writes Ondine Cohane:

It’s been a hard year for travel, but one silver lining of the restrictions has been the opportunity to see Italy in a way we have not enjoyed in decades, with a fraction of its usual visitors. Hill towns are particularly alluring in their relative solitude. For now at least, you can meander through beautiful cinematic countryside with hardly another hiker in sight. Booking into a popular restaurant where it’s hard to get a table for months can now be a last-minute decision rather than an epic wrangling. Locals have time to pause and chat about their ­favourite nearby secrets. Decisions are spontaneous rather than scripted.Though bittersweet, of course, 2020 may well be Italy’s banner year for a more ­solitary and tranquil type of discovery – provided current Covid arrangements hold. 

Here are 15 of the most spectacular and unexpected towns to put on your radar, whether you are an art buff, a gourmand or a nature lover. Each is its own special kind of paradise.

Civita di Bagnoregio - alamy

01:15 PM

Third wave of coronavirus entirely possible, admits professor

A third wave of coronavirus is "entirely possible" and another lockdown would only serve to "defer" further outbreaks, Professor Mark Woolhouse has warned.

Professor Woolhouse, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, said that while strict measures stop the immediate crisis and quickly reduce transmission, they do not make the virus go away.

Speaking on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday he said that modelling had previously shown it was "entirely possible" that another lockdown would be needed in September.

When asked if there could be a third wave of coronavirus he said:

"That's entirely possible. The scenario I mentioned earlier does actually include this possibility and this is just another demonstration of what I was saying earlier that lockdown doesn't solve the problem, it defers it.

That's why we need some kind of cavalry on the horizon or alternatively, if you think that vaccine is not going to be available in six months or 12 months or two years or whenever, it means that we do need alternatives.

The alternatives that have been mentioned so far are things like the Moonshot programme of mass testing."


12:55 PM

Demand for holidays in Turkey soars as travel map shrinks for Britons

Britons desperate for some winter sun are turning to Turkey as one the last restriction-free options for a holiday.

Currency expert FairFX has reported a 78 per cent spike in orders for Turkish lira, with the pound currently up 24 per cent against the currency compared to the start of this year. 

Travelsupermarket points to a 15 per cent jump in bookings to Turkey in the past 14 days, accounting for a third of all search traffic, and a fall in demand for Greece, where cases are on the rise. Turkey remains comfortably under the UK's threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 over seven days, with a rate of 14.1. The UK itself currently stands at 56. 

turkey - istock

12:39 PM

'No standing, dancing or singing' – Après-ski is off the menu as Austrian government clamps down

Après-ski in Austria is set to be drastically different this winter as the Government outlines new rules to rein in the country’s popular off-the-slope parties, Lucy Aspden reports.

Gone are the days of dancing on tables in crowded bars. Instead après-ski venues, such as those in popular party destinations St AntonIscghl and Sölden, will have to adhere to new capacity restrictions and skiers must be seated at tables, both in and outdoors.

“There will be no après-ski as we know it from earlier times,” Tourism Minister Elisabeth Koestinger told a news conference this week.

“Standing, dancing, singing while densely packed in small bars or under-umbrella bars is a potential source of infection and we are distancing ourselves from it,” she said.

Read the full story here.


12:02 PM

Your lunchtime read: 'The family tragedy that made me fear the ocean, and my quest to overcome it '

Hang onto your handkerchief, this will be the most moving story you've read in a while. 

Benjamin Parker, who grew up surfing in Dorset, lost his beloved aunt to the ocean when he was a teenager. It took more than a decade for him to trust the waves again, but he made a breakthrough during a trip to Portugal. He writes:

There’s not a romantic ending to this story; grief, heartbreak, loss, black dog – whatever you wish to call it – doesn’t wash away easily (believe me, I have tried). The burden that lingers is as heavy as the coffin I once helped carry. But there’s a glimmer of acceptance in the turmoil, which is all I can hope for. That surf and yoga hideaway in the Algarve, straightforward in concept but executed with swagger, helped reconcile an unsettled soul with a love of surfing. With saltwater washing over my skin, I’ll be thinking of you, Ora – and I promise no more pausing on the shoreline.

Read the excellent story here.

surfer - getty

11:46 AM

20 reasons why you should escape to quarantine-free Turkey

For a start, because we still can. But there are many more reasons than that, argues Terry Richardson:

With the third longest coastline of any Mediterranean country, one of the world’s best cuisines, a plethora of beautifully located archaeological sites, a historic metropolis bestriding two continents and a marvellous tourist infrastructure, Turkey needs little selling as a holiday destination. Especially when you throw in its famously hospitable people, late summer sun and the superb value for money it offers.Of course tourism has taken a big hit in the worldwide pandemic, but Turkey has been far more successful than many countries in dealing with it, and has been included on the “travel corridor” list of countries that Britons can visit without restrictions, or the need to quarantine on their return, since the start of July. 

Start planning your trip with our new guide.


11:30 AM

10pm curfew leads to busy streets in Soho

Back home, town and city centres up and down the UK were once again packed at closing time last night following the introduction of the new 10pm hospitality curfew earlier this week.

Nearly three months after pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen their doors, the rules were tightened again from Thursday following a rise in the UK's Covid-19 caseload.

Police have the power to enforce these rules, and businesses are expected to as well. Individuals who fail to comply can be handed a £200 fine, doubling with each offence, to a maximum of £3,200.


11:15 AM

A view from around the world

Here's a Sunday snapshot:

kyoto - shutterstock
tunisia - shutterstock
casablanca - ap

11:00 AM

UK coronavirus cases not rising as fast as Vallance's 'nightmare projection'

Fancy some good news? Don't we all.

Newly reported Covid-19 cases are not rising as fast as projections presented by the government's chief scientists, analysis by The Telegraph's Dominic Gilbert can reveal.

On Monday, the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance presented a scenario in which the number of new confirmed cases could reach close to 50,000 a day by October 13 if it began doubling every seven days.  

Sir Patrick made clear the scenario was “not a prediction”, but an example of how the virus can spread when left unchecked. It was based on the situation as of September 15.

Since the dire warning the UK has seen the highest daily rise in detected infections since the start of the pandemic for two days running, with 6,634 new cases reported on September 24 and 6,874 on September 25.

However, had the number of new cases been doubling every seven days, the UK would have been reporting closer to 8,000 cases a day by this time.

Analysis by the Telegraph shows – at the current rate - the virus is doubling between every nine and 14 days. In a worst-case scenario, this would lead to marginally more than 32,000 new daily cases by October 13.


10:45 AM

Which country could be quarantined next?

A look at the rising Covid-19 cases around the world. The threshold for a UK quarantine is 20 cases per 100,000 over a seven-day period:


10:30 AM

Sweden corona strategy: 'The country has remained so calm'

Since the pandemic hit in the middle of March, Sweden has remained so calm, and its restrictions been so gentle, that it has often felt like a crisis happening elsewhere, notes Richard Orange:

Looking at the raised tempers, blame, hysteria and sense of panic over in the UK, the calm here has felt surreal, and something to be grateful for.The episode also added to my first-hand evidence that Swedes are largely continuing to abide by the public health agency's recommendations - keep your distance, keep good hygiene, and stay home when you're sick.While in the UK, many are angry and distrustful of their leaders, most people here are glad that politicians stood back and let the rational and reassuring state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell set the strategy.

We've got plenty of content for you to read on the topic of Sweden, including:


10:15 AM

The underrated city that's having a food revival post lockdown

The Polish capital of Warsaw bounced back quickly from lockdown and is now witnessing a burst of culinary creativity, writes Mary Lussiana:

Those who feel cheated of exploring pastures new with our limited travel options would do well to consider a trip to Warsaw, where Covid-19 is under control, masks can be abandoned except in taxis and there is an exciting, vibrant new foodie scene to experience.The newest opening, and still the hottest ticket in town is Nobu, where chef Yannick Lohou, fresh from Nobu Barcelona, rolls out the famous black cod miso alongside toro tartare with caviar, the king crab tempura with watermelon (yes, it works), and the dish that has unofficially been crowned Warsaw’s favourite: Wagyu beef and foie gras dumplings with spicy ponzu. It is about as close as you can get to the traditional Polish pierogi (normally filled with cabbage and mushrooms or white cheese and potato), but here plump with 2020 culinary sophistication. 

Read the full story here.


10:00 AM

How Vietnam crushed its second wave

On July 24, Vietnam was enjoying its 99th straight day without any known transmission of the novel coronavirus.

While the international borders remained closed to all but a handful of specific flights, life inside the country would have appeared shockingly normal to much of the world: domestic tourism was fully functioning, restaurants and bars were busy, and social distancing regulations had ended.

The following day, the Ministry of Health announced a new case of community transmission in Da Nang, a large city on the central coast.

vietnam - getty

The source of this infection remains unknown, as all new cases in the previous three months had been people arriving from abroad who were immediately quarantined for 14 days.

Wherever it came from, the outbreak spread rapidly, and within a few weeks hundreds of new cases were detected in Da Nang, largely concentrated in a cluster of hospitals, while Vietnam’s coronavirus-related death toll jumped from zero to 35.

Michael Tatarski has the full story


09:45 AM

Three rules for planning a holiday in our post-Covid era

Embarking on a domestic summer holiday made Anna Hart more creative and discerning, not less.

This year, we’re all having to downsize our daydreams. But this doesn’t mean we should settle for lacklustre holidays. Even though I was confining myself to mainland Britain, I could still seize this opportunity to explore a nation, Wales, that shamefully I’d never visited before.A four-hour rail journey was nothing compared to the 11-hour trips to LA I used to make. My normal reluctance to spend hours travelling – without arriving somewhere hot and exotic – evaporated, and my intrepid spirit returned.

Read the full story for Anna's golden rules in planning a staycation.


09:30 AM

France's health system will be overwhelmed, expert claims

France will face a months-long coronavirus epidemic that will overwhelm its health system if something does not change, one of the country's top medical figures warned Sunday.

"The second wave is arriving faster than we thought," Patrick Bouet, head of the National Council of the Order of Doctors, told the weekly Journal du Dimanche.

Fresh restrictions to slow the spread of the disease in the country's worst-hit areas, including the Mediterranean city of Marseille and the Paris region, have run into local resistance.

Mr Bouet told the paper that warnings delivered this week by Health Minister Olivier Veran had not gone far enough, stating:

"He didn't say that in three to four weeks, if nothing changes, France will face a widespread outbreak across its whole territory, for several long autumn and winter months."

There would be no medical staff available to provide reinforcements, and France's health system would be unable to meet all the demands placed on it, he warned.

marseille - reuters

09:15 AM

Cases top 700,000 in Argentina

Argentina's coronavirus infections topped 700,000 on Saturday with new daily infections and deaths among the top five globally, Reuters data showed, despite seven months of quarantine that have ravaged the frail economy.

Argentina reported a rolling seven-day average of 11,082 new cases daily, behind only India, the United States, France and Brazil, all countries with far larger populations than the South American nation. Argentina's average daily death toll this week hit 365.

Health officials on Saturday reported 702,484 total infections since March and 15,543 deaths. On Friday, the province of Buenos Aires announced it had underestimated the death toll from Covid-19 by 3,523, outraging many Argentines already weary from months of lockdown that had failed to slam the breaks on the pandemic.

The additional deaths from Buenos Aires province were not incorporated in those figures, the health ministry said.


09:01 AM

What happened yesterday

A recap of the top stories:

  • Sweden's Covid-19 case rate doubles within a week
  • First snow falls over European ski resorts
  • Household mixing ban comes into force across swathes of Northern England
  • United Airlines to be first US airline to offer Covid-19 tests for passengers
  • BA crew member says Hong Kong quarantine is 'like a concentration camp'

Read yesterday's blog here.