Cases of COVID-19 in the UK have soared again with the rapid spread of the more transmissible omicron BA.2 variant reaching record levels last week when official figures showed that one in 13 people had the coronavirus. British travellers going abroad for the Easter holidays faced disruptions yesterday as two main carriers, British Airways and easyJet, cancelled dozens of flights due to staff shortages related to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Budget carrier easyJet grounded 62 flights scheduled after cancelling at least 222 flights over the weekend.
British Airways said some three dozen out of its 115 flights were cancelled yesterday were due to pandemic-related problems.
The Easter school holidays, which start this week, are the first time many families in Britain have booked trips abroad after two years of restrictions.
China’s zero tolerance strategy on covid
On Sunday, the ruling Communist Party announced the deployment of thousands of military personnel to the locked-down financial hub to assist in the mandatory screening of all 25 million inhabitants.
The plan, which will see every resident take a nucleic acid test starting on Monday morning, comes as Shanghai reported a city record of more than 9,000 cases on Sunday.
