Traffic-Light System for International Travel
- It has been confirmed that the government will be introducing a new traffic-light system to guide travel to and from other countries
- The system will expand the current red-list, by adding amber and green categories.
- Countries that are on the green list will not require isolation on return but COVID tests will still need to be taken before and on return.
- Countries on the green list will have judged to be at lower risk based on vaccination and infection rates, variants of concern and access to and capacity of genomic sequencing
- The list will be helpful for when non-essential travel is allowed to resume, which is planned from 17th May but not set in stone, and it also depends on if other countries will accept non-essential travel themselves or not.
My Thoughts
I think this kind of approach only makes sense as whenever non-essential travel is allowed again there needs to be a system in place to help guide those who are planning to travel abroad this year if it becomes possible to do so. Countries placed on the green list will be guidance showing that non-essential travel to those places should be ok, although there is still some level of risk involved, which is why travelers to such countries will still need mandatory COVID testing.
If it is done correctly then it should generally work out, but it will remain to be seen as of now how the entire system will work and if it works, or if it may still lead to an increase in cases, which would only happen if people going on holiday miss a mandatory COVID test. We also still need to find out what determines a country being placed on the new Amber list, and what the conditions for traveling to and from such places will be compared to the red-list countries.
World’s First Coronavirus Vaccine for Pets
- Russia has registered the world’s first pet vaccine for coronavirus, Carnivac-Cov
- Trials of the new vaccine involved dogs, cats, foxes, minks, as well as other animals
- The vaccine provides immunity for six months and that it is highly immunogenic with all animals developing antibodies in 100% of cases.
- It is also claimed the vaccine may be able to help against coronavirus mutations in animals
- So far there have only been a very tiny number of pets in the world diagnosed with coronavirus
- There is also yet no proof the current coronavirus can be transmitted from animals to humans
- There have though been scares previously, such as when millions of minks were culled in Denmark due to a new coronavirus mutation
My Thoughts
I think this is a good idea and something that should be considered by agricultural and farming sectors for their livestock and other animals and even something that zoos should consider as we have seen previously some gorillas and big cats getting infected, although it remains rare. Plus, the mink scare in Denmark is one of the most serious developments so far that should be a warning sign for us to be prepared, stopping the pandemic involves stopping it everywhere, including in animals.
Only stopping it in humans could just have a new strain circle back around from animals into humans, starting it off all over again. Such vaccines can also be seen as an insurance policy for the agricultural and farming sectors so they do not have to cull off their livestock when mutations do occur, leading to massive financial and economic damages.
Holyrood and Hartlepool Election polls
The local elections will be taking place on 6th May, which also includes elections for the Scottish Parliament and also a by-election in the Hartlepool constituency
Hartlepool By-Election
- The Hartlepool constituency opened up following Labour MP Mike Hill quitting who had been dogged by sexual assault allegations which he denied
- Labour held on to the seat in the 2019 General Election in the face of mass Conservative gains within the historic Labour Red Wall of which Hartlepool is a part of
- But a recent poll by Survation has put the Conservatives in the lead in Hartlepool on 49% with Labour on 42%
- With the Brexit Party having been rebranded to Reform UK, most of its large vote share it received in 2019 has migrated to the Conservatives, according to the poll
- Losing the seat on 6th May would be another big blow to Labour who have continued to straddle in the polls, and it could raise questions over Keir Starmer’s leadership
Holyrood Election
- The Scottish Parliament’s seats will all be up for re-election on 6th May, with the outcome having implications on Scottish Independence and Unionism
- The recently created pro-independence Alba Party lead by Alex Salmond which is only standing in List seats to prevent damaging the SNP, is projected to gain a number of seats which could help pro-independence parties alongside the SNP and the Greens to have a full majority
- A majority for pro-independence parties has been predicted by a recent Sunday Times poll giving them 79 of the 129 seats, up from 66 (SNP and Greens) with 65 required for a majority
- The poll shows SNP getting 65 seats (up from 61) which would allow them a narrow majority alone, the Scottish Greens would get 8 seats up from 5 and the new Alba Party would enter with 6 seats.
- Such a majority would be a blow to pro-unionist parties such as the Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats. The poll showed the Scottish Conservatives getting 24 seats (down from 30), Scottish Labour getting 20 seats (down from 23) and the Scottish Lib Dems getting 5 seats (no change).
- The poll also says a pro-union electoral alliance called All for Unity may enter with 1 seat (George Galloway, who is the alliance’s leader), giving pro-union parties a total of 50 seats.
My Thoughts
I always do love elections and it was really a massive disappointment when last year’s local elections were delayed. But now we are only a month away from this year’s local elections, which due to last year’s delays is going to be quite a bit bigger, but it shall also be running alongside elections for the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments, and a House of Commons by-election in Hartlepool.
We have to remember that both of the above polls are just that, single polls. But they are still a bad indication for Labour and pro-union parties respectively, and will be causing some irritation and nervousness for the upcoming elections.
Keir Starmer has had it quite hard following his election as the new Labour leader having been thrust right into a pandemic crisis and following the collapse of the Corbynistas after the 2019 General Election which has led to a divide in the Labour Party. It’s a monumental task to try and rebuild the Labour Party following a large General Election loss under usual circumstances, but under a global health crisis it only compounds the severe issues, and that’s without even mentioning the implications of BREXIT for Labour and their stance on it, which is part of what caused them so many issues in 2019.
Now facing a possible loss of another Labour Red Wall seat could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, but even if such a loss, given it does happen, leads to Starmer’s resignation and a new leadership election, can a new leader, whoever it may be, really be up to such a monumental challenge? Labour is in such a precarious position, and with the local elections around the corner things may only get more troublesome for the party. So far it seems there is no clear answer to a post-Starmer Labour. I personally believe that if the seat is lost Starmer will likely hold on to the leadership, with one possible talking point revolving around Labour not needing further destabilization during the ongoing pandemic.
Another reason Labour is failing to make much ground in the polls also revolves around the Conservatives success in the vaccine distribution and general handling of the pandemic response, any such negative stories that have come up, such as the PPE procurement predicament and the test and trace fiasco, have quickly been forgotten, mostly again due to the ongoing vaccine success. It could be possible that the NHS pay rise backlash could do some degree of damage, but likely not enough.
As for the Holyrood elections, it is yet further sign that the question of Scottish independence is not going away any time soon or probably ever for that fact. It’s going to have to be something that Westminster faces again in the future, and if the Sunday Times poll holds generally true, then it only further highlights Scotland’s continued push for independence, with no signs of slowing down, especially following BREXIT. It is likely many unionists had hoped the Salmond-Sturgeon controversy may have weakened the SNP to a degree or even caused a factional split or collapse, but it is clear none of these things have occurred, and SNP support has remained robust.
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