so we have to have a balanced approach. on monday, britain opened its borders to people from the us and most of the eu who ve been fully vaccinated, but further changes are also being looked at. the government has been using a traffic light system for travel. people can visit a green country. when they return, they need to take a covid test before departure, and another test once they re back. on returning from an amber country, people who are fully vaccinated don t need to isolate. but entering the uk from a red country will involve quarantining in a hotel for ten days. the government had been considering an amber watchlist, flagging up countries at risk of moving to red. but that s now been abandoned, following opposition from some mps. a decision welcomed by the travel industry. we already have a hugely complex system, a traffic light system that governs international travel and i think most people are struggling to keep up
with theirjobs in the travel sector and millions of families are being kept apart unnecessarily while the rest of the world is back to normal. ben bradshaw, labour mp for exeter, in sicily, thank you for your time. scotland s first minister nicola sturgeon is to set out plans today for the lifting of most legal covid 19 restrictions in a statement to msps. the whole of scotland is currently in level zero of the virus alert system, and the first minister has said she is hopeful of going further on 9 august, which could see physical distancing rules relaxed, the return of office working and larger crowds at events. an afghan general has warned of devastating consequences for global security if the taliban are allowed to win in their fight against government forces. fighting in lashkar gah in the southern helmand province has been intensifying. there are fears it could be the first provincial capital to fall to the taliban.
with those changes and to hear that we were about to have another layer of complexity added to that, i think was concerning for people. whenever those rules change, it impacts people s plans and it dents people s confidence. so the fact that the system is going to stay the same i think is welcome news. but the opposition labour party has accused the government of being in total chaos over its border policy, saying the travel industry needs maximum clarity, not u turns and confusion. simon jones, bbc news. let s speak to our chief political correspondent adam fleming. it seems to be a uniquely british thing, firstly overthink a traffic light and then you turn on a policy before it is ever announced. this is all caettin before it is ever announced. this is all getting into before it is ever announced. this is all getting into semantics. - before it is ever announced. this is all getting into semantics. rather. all getting into semantics. rather than a u turn i would say this as may a p
international travel would be making the testing system much simpler and cheaper for british nationals when they return to the uk. thanks, adam fleming. scotland s first minister nicola sturgeon is to set out plans today for the lifting of most legal covid 19 restrictions in a statement to msps. the whole of scotland is currently in level zero of the virus alert system, and the first minister has said she is hopeful of going further on 9 august, which could see physical distancing rules relaxed, the return of office working and larger crowds at events. the authorities in the central chinese city of wuhan, where coronavirus first surfaced in 2019, have said its entire population of 11 million people will be tested for covid 19. the announcement comes a day after the city reported seven cases of the highly transmissible
faces punishment if she ever returns to belarus following her refusal to follow team orders. the number of covid i9 deaths in the uk is slowly rising, according to the latest figures from the office for national statistics. the number of deaths registered in the uk in the week ending 23july 2021 was 11,160 which was 8% above the five year average. 392 involved covid 19 124 more than were reported in the previous week. scotland s first minister nicola sturgeon is to set out plans today for the lifting of most legal covid 19 restrictions in a statement to msps. the whole of scotland is currently in level zero of the virus alert system, and the first minister has said she is hopeful of going further on 9 august which could see physical distancing rules relaxed, the return of office working