Travel restrictions and self-isolation (quarantine) rules continue to be enforced in order to help reduce the global spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of the UK public. Within the UK, coronavirus restrictions are gradually being lifted, with timetables having been published for their easing in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Since 17 May 2021, a cautious approach to resuming international travel has resumed for people living in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Currently, anyone entering Scotland from countries on a new international travel green list will not be required to quarantine on arrival, but will have to take a PCR test for COVID-19. The green list is currently the same as that in place for England, but will be subject to review based on Scotland’s specific needs. It should be noted that this system does not indicate which countries are currently allowing UK travellers to enter their country.

Country specific COVID-19 risk

The fitfortravel (for the general public) and TRAVAX (for health professionals) country pages have been updated to include a COVID-19 country specific risk-rating, with every country being identified as high, moderate or low risk and each rating accompanied by appropriate travel advice. This information will be listed in the ‘Alerts’ section on each country page of fitfortravel and the 'Emerging Health Risks' section of every TRAVAX country page. This risk-rating is based on a robust public health assessment of the COVID-19 risks for travellers to each country and is regularly reviewed.

Advice for travellers

Prior to booking any international travel, travellers must first check if the country they are travelling to is currently accepting UK travellers. 

• Each country or territory on the FCDO foreign travel advice page provides up-to-date information on their entry rules, in response to coronavirus (COVID-19), under the ‘Entry Requirements’ section. 
• Travellers should be aware that some countries or territories may require proof of COVID-19 vaccination status for entry. For those living in Scotland and England, guidance for demonstrating COVID-19 vaccination status is available. For those living in Wales, the Welsh Government is working with the UK Government to allow access to the NHS app for vaccine certificates, but this service is not available yet. Information on demonstrating COVID-19 vaccination status has yet to be announced for Northern Ireland.

It is advised that travellers are aware of all travel restrictions, self-isolation rules and precautions they should take, in order to reduce their risk of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) before, during and after travel, as detailed on the fitfortravel website.

On return to the UK, travellers should be aware that quarantine rules differ for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Prior to travel, travellers must ensure they are able to comply with the rules appropriate to the UK nation they will be arriving in and reside in, if different.

Source: TRAVAX, 13 May 2021

On 21 May 2021, the twenty-eighth meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the international spread of wild poliovirus, was convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The committee agreed that the situation still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and recommended the extension of the temporary recommendations.

The committee provided the director-general with updated risk categories as below: 

• A certificate for polio vaccination under IHR (2005) is required for travellers from countries listed below, which are infected with WPV1, cVDPV1 or cVDPV3, with the potential risk of international spread: 
  • Afghanistan (WPV1) 
  • Pakistan (WPV1) 
  • Madagascar (cVDPV1)
  • Malaysia (cVDPV1) 
  • Yemen (cVDPV1) 
• While travellers are encouraged to carry proof of polio vaccination, there is no certificate requirement under IHR (2005) for the countries listed below, which are infected with circulating vaccine derived poliovirus (type cVDPV2), with or without evidence of local transmission, with the exception of Afghanistan, Malaysia and Pakistan, which are also infected with WPV1 or cVDPV1: 
  • Afghanistan 
  • Benin 
  • Burkina Faso 
  • Cameroon 
  • Central African Republic 
  • Chad 
  • Congo 
  • Cote d’Ivoire 
  • Democratic Republic of Congo 
  • Egypt 
  • Ethiopia 
  • Ghana 
  • Guinea 
  • Iran 
  • Kenya 
  • Liberia 
  • Malaysia 
  • Mali 
  • Niger 
  • Nigeria 
  • Pakistan 
  • Senegal 
  • Sierra Leone 
  • Somalia 
  • South Sudan 
  • Sudan 
  • Tajikistan 
  • Togo 
• States no longer infected by WPV1 or cVDPV, but which remain vulnerable to re-infection by WPV or cVDPV: 
  • China 
  • Indonesia 
  • Mozambique 
  • Myanmar 
  • Zambia

Advice for travellers and further information on poliomyelitis can be found on the TRAVAX (for health professionals) and fitfortravel (for the general public) websites.

Source: TRAVAX, 27 May 2021

The World Health Assembly, the main governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), has adopted a new resolution that aims to revitalize and accelerate efforts to end malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that claims more than 400,000 lives annually.

The resolution urges member states to step up the pace of progress through plans and approaches that are consistent with the WHO updated global malaria strategy and the WHO guidelines for malaria. Furthermore, countries are urged to extend investment in, and support for, health services, sustain and scale up sufficient funding for the global malaria response, and boost investment in the research and development of new tools.

Source: WHO, 28 May 2021

A project in Georgia, and World Health Organization (WHO) European regions, has shown that simultaneously testing for several infectious diseases in primary health care settings is feasible and can help to bring down the burden of chronic hepatitis C, HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis (TB).

Countries in Eastern Europe and central Asia have seen higher numbers of people affected by chronic hepatitis B and C, HIV and TB, compared to the rest of the European Region. However, the adoption of integrated testing services in a number of countries, including Georgia, has revealed that combined testing is not only feasible but can identify infections before they become deadly.

Coinfection is common, but finding those affected in a timely manner in order to provide care and life-saving treatment can be a challenge if each disease falls under a separate health programme. Equally, there can be stigma attached to HIV testing, while hepatitis C can go undiagnosed because patients often experience no obvious symptoms.

Source: WHO, 21 May 2021

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published the following 2019 annual epidemiological reports: 

• Legionnaires’ disease - Legionnaires’ disease remains an uncommon and mainly sporadic respiratory infection, with an overall notification rate in 2019 for the EU and EEA of 2.2 cases per 100,000 of the population. 
• Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection - 29 EU and EEA countries reported 8,313 confirmed cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection, with the overall notification rate being 2.2 cases per 100,000 of the population.

Sources: ECDC, 24 May 2021 and ECDC, 24 May 2021

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published a report presenting the results of the tenth round of the external quality assessment (EQA-9) scheme for typing of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, organised for public health national reference laboratories (PH NRLs) in ECDC’s Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses network (FWD-Net).

Salmonellosis was the second most commonly reported zoonotic disease in the EU for 2018, with a notification rate of 20.1 cases per 100,000 of the population.

Source: ECDC, 25 May 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Swiss Confederation have launched the first WHO BioHub Facility as part of the WHO BioHub System. This facility will enhance the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and partners globally. Based in Spiez, Switzerland, the facility will serve as a centre for the safe receipt, sequencing, storage and preparation of biological materials for distribution to other laboratories, in order to inform risk assessments and sustain global preparedness against these pathogens.

Currently, most pathogen sharing occurs between countries on an ad hoc basis, which can be slow and may leave some countries without access to the benefits and tools. The BioHub will enable member states to share biological materials via the BioHub under pre-agreed conditions, including biosafety, biosecurity, and other applicable regulations. This will ensure timeliness and predictability in response activities.

Following results from the pilot project, the BioHub will expand from SARS-COV-2 and its variants, to other pathogens, and connect partners with other repositories and laboratory networks in 2022.

Source: WHO, 24 May 2021

The theme for this year's World Environment Day, which will be held on 5 June 2021, is ecosystem restoration. Ecosystems are defined as the interaction between living organisms (plants, animals, people) with their surroundings. This includes nature, but also human-made systems, such as cities or farms.

World Environment Day 2021 will see the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which urges everyone, governments, corporations and citizens, to do their part in helping the planet.

Source: World Environment Day, May 2021