Pandemic travel news: Russia and China fight record Covid outbreaks

(CNN) — Russia and China are preventing document Covid outbreaks, US domestic air travel is established to go from undesirable to even worse, but there is certainly fantastic information out of Asia-Pacific.

Right here are some points we discovered in pandemic travel this 7 days.

1. Russia has moved to the CDC’s highest-hazard classification

There are now practically 80 international locations on the CDC’s “no-go” Amount 4 listing, such as the United kingdom, Greece, Switzerland and Thailand.

2. China is doubling down on its zero-Covid strategy

All throughout Asia Pacific, from Australia to South Korea, nations around the world are easing limitations and reopening borders as they go absent from zero-Covid strategies — but China is keeping out.

Despite thoroughly vaccinating far more than 75{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} of its population, China is sticking to its plan of shut borders, prolonged quarantines for international arrivals and localized lockdowns.

3. Flying has gotten genuinely negative. This is why

Staffing shortages mean flight crews are overworked and vaccine mandates could direct to even additional shortages. Lessen availability of flights, in the meantime, implies higher ticket prices for those people flights. Planes are packed, there is division about mask procedures, and tensions are increasing.

4. The ultra extended-haul desire has not absent away

Extremely prolonged-haul flights are classed as any that are scheduled to past extra than 16 hours — and they’ve basically been all-around since the 1930s.

5. Try warm-climate destinations, say journey specialists

Though the 2020 holiday break year was a keep-at-home affair, this yr relocating about the globe is safer and much more available. Even so, we nevertheless want weigh up challenges versus added benefits for the duration of just about every action of trip-setting up.

Your vaccination position is the most critical aspect when it comes to simplicity of journey, with lots of countries not permitting the unjabbed enter. If you want to reduce your Covid possibility but are nonetheless eager for a holiday abroad, contemplate heat-temperature locations the place most of the activity is outdoor.

7. The ‘world’s best’ cheese for 2021 was exposed

The Earth Cheese Awards 2021 have been held in northern Spain.

The Guild of Good Food items

Even if you are not generating plans to jet off everywhere for a although, you can nevertheless vacation the environment with your palate.

The winning cheese, called Olavidia, is from an artisan cheesemaker using the business identify Quesos y Besos (Cheeses and Kisses). The crown returned to Europe this yr soon after the past winner was — for the first time at any time — an American cheese, Oregon’s Rogue River Blue.

8. There have been joyful reunions at Australian airports

Tens of thousands of beloved ones and loved ones customers have been held aside for far more than 20 months thanks to Australia’s strict border coverage in reaction to Covid-19.

So considerably, only the hugely vaccinated states of New South Wales and Victoria have relaxed limits on global arrivals, but the Australian govt claims additional border limitations will be taken out as other sections of the place satisfy their 80{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} vaccination targets.

CNN’s Forrest Brown, Karla Cripps, Nectar Gan, Steve George, Al Goodman, Marnie Hunter, Chris Isidore, Angus Watson, Ben Westcott and Jessie Yeung contributed reporting.