New York City has ordered international travellers to quarantine for 14 days following the discovery of new Covid variants in countries including the UK.
Anyone who breaches the rules will be fined $1,000 a day, mayor Bill de Blasio warned.
All inbound international travellers must provide their contact details.
“We are really serious about the fact that if you violate quarantine you’re creating a danger for everyone else,” said de Blasio.
“We are in the final battle here, all we have to do is get through these holidays.”
The Foreign Office also warned that some airlines might require British travellers to the US to produce a recent negative Covid-19 test result before flying.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government suspended all inbound passenger flights from the UK until January 6.
The UK imposed a travel ban on arrivals to England from South Africa from 9am today (Thursday) following an outbreak of a new variant strain in the country.
“Visitors arriving into England who have been in or transited through South Africa in the previous 10 days will not be permitted entry,” the FCDO said.
“British and Irish nationals, visa holders and permanent residents will still be able to enter upon completion of a passenger location form but are required to self-isolate for ten days along with their household.”
The two cases identified in the UK had been in contact with someone who has travelled from South Africa, Public Health England confirmed.
Some European countries have started to lift bans on travel from the UK as more counties in southern England were placed under tighter tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day.
Flights were allowed to resume to Italy, Czech Republic and Bulgaria although curbs on travel from the UK remain in place.
In other changes, airline passengers from the UK to Luxembourg are now required to have a negative Covid-19 test result and Slovenia lifted the suspension of flights.
Greece is now requiring British travellers by air to provide evidence of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours ahead of arrival in the country. Tests on arrival will also be required from Christmas Day until January 7 followed by the need to quarantine for ten days even if a negative result is returned. A further PCR test will be needed to exit quarantine.
However, UK holidaymakers who have a hotel booking and test positive on arrival will not be able to proceed as planned.
“Instead, the Greek authorities are likely to require you to transfer to a specific self-isolation hotel,” the FCDO said in updated travel advice.
St. Kitts and Nevis temporarily suspended British Airways flights from the UK from Boxing Day until January 2.
The changes to travel rules came as other areas in England were also moved into a higher tier as the government attempts to contain the spread of the new variant of Covid-19.
All parts of England have been placed in a tier from Boxing Day depending on factors such as the speed at which the virus is spreading or the pressure on hospitals – four being the highest.
Restrictions in these areas include:
- Residents should stay at home, unless they have a “reasonable excuse” such as work or education
- All non-essential shops must close
- Hairdressers and nail bars must close
The whole of Wales has entered another lockdown. Mainland Scotland and Northern Ireland start new lockdowns on Boxing Day.
Changes in the tier system is likely to result in “mass confusion” about the rules and regulations when it comes to travel, the boss of accommodation booking platform Pitchup.com warned.
Foubder Dan Yates said: “The ruling that in tier 3 you should avoid travelling outside your tier 3 area yet could travel abroad sent out a very mixed message about our national approach. Bookings however remained relatively buoyant.
“As we now see a further 18 million people enter tier 4, we expect to see a huge rise in confusion about where customers stand with future and existing bookings. Not least because the rate of change is rapid.
“A key source of confusion is that they need to check the local regulations for both their point of origin and their destination – which may or may not be in the same tier or even country.
“As I’m sure many travel businesses are encountering, it seems as soon as we manage to update web content relating to restrictions, it becomes outdated.
“Confused messages undermine consumer confidence in booking ahead, which is incredibly damaging to the overall leisure economy.
“What we need now is for the government to take notice of this and take action, to facilitate positive steps that keep people safe whilst supporting the sector’s ultimate recovery.”