Month: December 2020

Traveling to Uruguay during Covid-19: What you need to know before you go

 If you’re planning a trip to Uruguay, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.

The basics

Uruguay successfully kept a lid on Covid-19 cases at the start of the pandemic, but has seen a rapid rise in infections in the second wave, and is sacrificing its summer tourism season in a bid to control the virus.

What’s on offer

Often overlooked in favor of neighboring Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay is one of South America’s loveliest countries. Montevideo, the coastal capital on the River Plate, is perfect for strolling, while the wild Atlantic coast has some of South America’s most impressive beaches.

Who can go

Uruguay announced in November that it will remain closed to tourists until March 2021, meaning its entire summer season will be lost. Only Uruguay nationals and permanent residents can enter the country. Cruise ships can only dock in Montevideo to refuel and resupply — passengers cannot disembark.

What are the restrictions?

Returning nationals and permanent residents must show proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure. All arrivals must undertake seven days of quarantine and take a further negative PCR test. Those who do not wish to take a second test can quarantine for 14 days instead.

What’s the Covid situation?

Uruguay registered a record 383 daily cases on December 10. While deaths stand at just 168, the situation appears to be worsening after months of appearing to have the virus under control, with nearly 18,000 cases over the past 10 months as of December 30. The rise has been blamed by some experts on domestic tourism, which many had hoped would help save the beleaguered economy at a time when foreign visitors are not permitted.

What can visitors expect?

Uruguay has mandated the use of masks and physical distancing. Many bars and restaurants remain shut until further notice, although some are offering delivery. Police patrol markets to ensure that social distancing is being respected, and those under 65 are asked not to shop between 8 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. so that older people can do so safely.

Useful links

Uruguay Natural
Entry regulations

Our recent coverage

Uruguay featured in our film of South America’s finest scenery, and Sofitel’s conversion of Montevideo’s grand old casino in Carrasco made it in our list of the best South American hotels. Uruguay is also rated for its ethical tourism.
Joe Minihane and Julia Buckley contributed to this report

How one bold decision made ‘Trolls World Tour’ the most important movie of 2020

“Trolls World Tour” upended that longstanding precedent.
“It was the first experiment during the pandemic of sending a film made for theaters directly to the home. That, in itself, is very significant,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst of Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business. “It set the tone for how movies would be released during the pandemic.”
As the health crisis dragged on, other studios followed Universal’s lead. Warner Bros. released “Scoob!,” a Scooby Doo animated film,” on digital, and Disney (DIS) launched its much anticipated big budget live-action remake of “Mulan” on Disney+, albeit for an extra fee.
“We’re all trying to figure out what the new normal is as these trends that we were seeing in the industry before the pandemic have now really come home to roost,” Langley said.
After the “Trolls World Tour” digital release, everything remained copacetic between Universal and theaters. The film found an audience on-demand, and theaters had larger problems just keeping their marquees lit.
It was your standard Hollywood happy ending — until the “Trolls'” numbers came out.

A new model

If you said last year that the world’s biggest theater chain would ban one of Hollywood’s biggest studios, no one would have believed you. If you said that the spat was over “Trolls World Tour,” industry insiders would have recommended seeking professional help.
But that’s exactly what happened.
In April, CEO Adam Aron announced that AMC (AMC) Theatres would no longer be showing Universal’s films. In a letter to Langley, he said that the decision was triggered by a quote in the Wall Street Journal from NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell revealing that based on the success of “Trolls World Tour” his studio expected to “release movies on both formats.” The sequel earned nearly $100 million in rental fees domestically in its first three weeks.
AMC’s threat wasn’t likely to hold, given the symbiotic relationship between the companies: AMC is the top movie theater company and Universal is the home of global blockbusters such as “Furious 7,” “Jurassic World” and “Minions.”
But the momentary rift led to a landmark deal that potentially created a new theatrical model for all of Hollywood.

The big one南昌桑拿网WHO warns future pandemics could be worse than coronavirus

南昌桑拿网from this pandemic, is that “we need to get ready for something which may be more severe in the future.”

“This pandemic has been very severe, it has spread around the world extremely quickly and has affected every corner of this planet,” Ryan said. “But this is not necessarily the big one. This virus is very transmissible and kills people, it has deprived so many people of loved ones. But its current case fatality is reasonably low in comparison to other emerging diseases. This is a wake-up call.”
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READ MORE: Next pandemic will be ‘more damaging’ if lessons aren’t learned from COVID-19, panel says

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He added that the threats will continue, and because our planet is so “fragile,” we must learn from the coronavirus pandemic and “get out act together.”

Ryan also said that there is a possibility of never eradicating COVID-19 — despite the recent rollout of safe vaccines.

南昌桑拿论坛“The likely scenario is the virus will become another endemic virus that will remain somewhat of a threat, but a very low-level threat in the context of an effective global vaccination program,” he said.

“It remains to be seen how well the vaccines are taken up, how close we get to a coverage level that might allow us the opportunity to go for elimination,” he said. “The existence of a vaccine, even at high efficacy, is no guarantee of eliminating or eradicating an infectious disease,” he said.
Click to play video ‘Coronavirus: WHO official says next few months ‘are going to be tough’ despite vaccine approval’
0:57 Coronavirus: WHO official says next few months ‘are going to be tough’ despite vaccine approval
Coronavirus: WHO official says next few months ‘are going to be tough’ despite vaccine approval – Dec 18, 2020

The warning comes more than two weeks after a highly-contagiousous coronavirus variant was announced by the British government.
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The strain, referred to by some experts as the B.1.1.7 lineage, is not the first new variant of COVID-19, but it has rapidly become the dominant strain in cases of COVID-19 in many parts of United Kingdom. To date, there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness.

Read more: Canada reports first cases of U.K. coronavirus variant. Here’s what you need to know

On Dec. 26, Canada reported the first two cases of the coronavirus variant that was found in the U.K. The variant has also and has spread to Australia, Japan and several European countries.

The WHO previously said that the newly authorized vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, should still work against the new coronavirus variant.