Coronavirus: What's happening around the world on Monday

 

U.S. warns against travel to Britain due to surge in COVID-19 cases amid reopening

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, joining remotely from self-isolation after being designated a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, hosts a media conference on the coronavirus pandemic with science and health advisers. (Alberto Pezzali/AFP/Getty Images)

The United States has upgraded its travel warnings for Britain, Indonesia and three other destinations, advising Americans not to travel to those locations due to a surge in coronavirus cases. 

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But in Britain, England is moving ahead with re-opening plans and lifted nearly all restrictions to help drive an economic recovery,

The British government also said it decided not to inoculate most children and teenagers against COVID-19 until more safety data on the vaccines become available. 

The decision to hold off giving shots to most people under age 18 was based on the recommendation of an expert advisory panel. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization said the health benefits of universal vaccination don't outweigh the risks for most young people who typically suffer only mild symptoms of the virus.

Meanwhile, England's car plants, railways, supermarkets and pubs warned the government on Monday that a COVID-19 tracing app, which has told hundreds of thousands of workers to isolate, was wrecking the recovery and pushing supply chains to the brink of collapse.

Cases of COVID-19 in Britain hit around 50,000 a day on some days last week.

Deaths remain far lower than in the winter thanks to vaccines, but have risen from less than 10 a day in June to about 40 a day in the past week.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has dialed down talk of freedom in recent weeks, urged the public to "proceed cautiously" and "recognize that this pandemic is far from over."

• INTERACTIVE Coronavirus tracker: The cases, hospitalizations and vaccinations in your area

• England's reopening provokes anxiety for some who have weakened immune systems

Automaker Stellantis said its Vauxhall van factory in Luton would move from three shifts to two shifts for the duration of this week, and Nissan adjusted production in some areas of its Sunderland plant to counter lower staffing numbers.

"The pingdemic is here and businesses need urgent change," Richard Walker, the managing director of supermarket chain Iceland, said on Twitter.

Britain's biggest rail operator, Govia Thameslink, said it may need to cancel some services in London and South East England. Retailer Marks & Spencer said it may have to reduce business hours.

"Where the industry will see the pain is in the supply chain, because logistics runs tight anyway to be efficient," Marks & Spencer CEO Steve Rowe said in a statement.

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