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Morocco halts flights from and to the UK due to rising COVID cases

Morocco halts flights from and to the UK due to rising COVID cases

The government of Morocco has reportedly announced that it is banning flights from and to the United Kingdom citing growing cases of COVID-19.

The Moroccan government informed several UK air carriers and tour operators that flights would be completely banned starting 23:59 BST on Wednesday (20th Oct) until further notice.

Supposedly, citing the same reason flights from and to the Netherlands and Germany have also been canceled by the government.

According to the most recent data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Morocco's weekly rate of confirmed COVID-19 infections on 14 October was 10.4 per 100,000 individuals, compared to 445.5 per 100,000 individuals in the UK.

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom recorded 43,738 new coronavirus infections, with fresh cases going above 40,000 for the seventh consecutive day. The number of hospitalized patients has also increased by 10% in a week to 7,749 at the start of the week.

The nation reported another 223 fatalities, the most since March, however daily statistics for Tuesdays are typically higher.

In response to the ban, the UK government has made an update to its own advice forum for travel to Morocco, stating that the Government of Morocco has stopped direct flights between Morocco and the UK for an undefined length of time.

While passengers from the United Kingdom are not prohibited from traveling from the nation per se, but must do so through a third country.

According to the updated advice, UK travelers must provide documentation of being completely vaccinated for at least two weeks prior to the flight or a negative PCR test report, not more than 48 hours prior to departure.

EasyJet stated that it was informed of the ban Wednesday morning and has canceled all outgoing flights to Morocco from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany until November 30, 2021.

British Airways has also suspended a flight from Heathrow to Marrakech, meanwhile a vacation planning company Tui has stated that it was contacted by the Moroccan administration.

Source credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58981507

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