News that Portugal will be taken off the government's green list of quarantine-free destinations from Tuesday has thrown travel plans for thousands into disarray. Some tell the BBC of cancelled holidays, wasted money and family visits postponed once again.
Kerry, a photographer from the Wirral, says her family - like many others - have had "the year from hell".
Her partner has been shielding for over a year due to an auto-immune disease, Kerry has had to nurse her mother through Covid-19 and a stroke, and her 18-month old son has hardly known a world without a pandemic.
She was just about to book a trip to Portugal, one of the few tourist destinations where quarantine-free travel was allowed, when the rules changed.
From 04:00 BST on Tuesday, it will join the amber list, meaning holidaymakers should not visit and arrivals must self-isolate for 10 days.
Kerry says: "This holiday was everything for us our first with our baby who has had no experiences in his first 18 months on this planet."
Family handout
Kerry says there are countries with low rates of infection but the government refuses to "let us holiday and live our life", even when many people are fully vaccinated.
Rachel Richmond, from Edinburgh, also expects to be fully vaccinated by the time of her two-week trip to Portugal in early July, booked just last week.
"What is the point of being vaccinated if you cannot go anywhere? It is so utterly frustrating and so unfair," she says.
She feels the government keeps "shifting the goalposts on travel", raising the hopes of people who follow the rules only to dash them a few weeks later.
'Travel not responsible'
Although travel to Portugal will still be legally permitted for people willing to quarantine on their return, some people - like Paul Modley and his partner, Tom Griffith, from London - say they are cancelling their trip.
"It doesn't feel responsible" to travel anyway, Paul says, adding: "Neither of us are really up for doing quarantine for 10 days when we come back."
Paul Modley
The couple will lose £360 spent on PCR tests to travel. They do not yet know if the airline or accommodation provider will give them a refund.
Paul, 54, says he booked out of "hope" that they would be able to get away and relax after the stresses of the last 15 months.
The suspense of waiting to hear if they had a negative test had already meant it was "not the most relaxing start or preparation for a holiday."
But he says: "It was worth a punt."
'Plans in disarray'
For others, the news that the green list status might be revoked came when they were already in Portugal - in the case of Mervyn Dinnen, just as he landed at Faro airport in the Algarve from Gatwick.
It's not the first time he's experienced a travel U-turn from the UK government, having previously been in the Canary Islands in December when quarantine requirements were imposed.
Arriving on a plane more-or-less full of Britons to a hotel full of Britons, he says most people seem determined to make the most of their holiday.
Getty Images
"I had a lovely lunch, I've got a beer here, the sun is shining. I feel relaxed even though what's happened has completely thrown my plans into disarray," he says.
But he says the fact that thousands of football fans were able to travel to Portugal for the Champions League final on 29 May sent a signal that it was safe for others to make the trip and it was "frustrating" to see that change within a week.
Although Portugal is a major tourist destination with about 2.5 million UK visitors before the pandemic, it is not only holiday plans that are being disrupted.
Stephanie Price, from Burnley, has tried five times to visit her family in Portugal after originally booking in 2019, each time being forced to rearrange due to the pandemic.
"I have worked all through lockdown and was looking forward to getting away to see my family," she says.
She says she has had both vaccinations and the virus is "here to stay" so people should not be "confined to misery" without being able to travel.
Getty Images
Portugal's coronavirus infections are much higher in the north and centre than in southern regions such as the Algarve, she says, and the travel policy should reflect that.
Some people are refusing to let the change to the travel list stop them, however.
One man, who is due to fly from London to Portugal on Saturday to stay in an AirBnB, says he may consider rebooking for another destination - but the need for a negative test in the 72 hours before travel means the options are limited.
Instead, he tells the BBC he is "leaning towards" heading on the Portugal trip anyway "because it is still legal".
"Unless they say, you must not go, you will be fined if you go, we might well still go and just have to bear the additional costs of an extra PCR test and the fact that we have to quarantine," he says.
Two more people have been charged with the murder of a 14-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Birmingham.
Dea-John Reid died from a stab wound to his chest in College Road in the Kingstanding area of the city on Monday.
His mother Joan Morris broke down in tears as she paid tribute to him near the scene of his death on Thursday.
George Khan, 38, of Newstead Road in the city, and a 14-year-old boy are due to appear before magistrates on Friday.
A 35-year-old man has also been charged with murder.
Michael Shields, from Alvis Walk, Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, was remanded in custody after appearing before magistrates in the city earlier and will appear at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
West Midlands Police said it was looking into the circumstances that led to Dea-John's death, and a specialist family liaison officer had been appointed to support the boy's family.
Earlier on Thursday evening, Ms Morris visited the area near to where Dea-John was killed.
'Lovely kid'
"What am I supposed to do without him?" Ms Morris asked.
She said her son was a "talented young man" and she missed him "so much", adding he was "a lovely kid".
Breaking down in tears, she said: "I can't live without my son... I love my son so much."
Dea-John's brother Kirk Bryan added: "He [had] so much potential... every day I tell him I'm proud of him."
Police are also appealing for information on a car "believed to have been used during the attack".
The force said it believed the offenders arrived and left the scene at about 19:30 BST in a dark blue VW Golf with the registration number TN07 GBR.
West Midlands Police
Dea-John was a year nine pupil at Harborne Academy and in a letter to parents and pupils, head teacher Sarah Ross wrote: "Any loss of life at such a young age is tragic, but these circumstances are truly appalling."
Holiday hopes for thousands will have been dashed by the move, which Mr Shapps also said was driven by a rise in Covid cases in the popular summer spot.
He said: "I want to be straight with people - this is a difficult decision to make but in the end we've seen two things that's caused concern.
"One is the positivity rate that has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal.
"The other is there's a sort of Nepal mutation of the Indian variant that's been detected and we just don't know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation and simply don't want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock."
Around 20 people in the UK are thought to be infected with the mutated variant, the MailOnline reports.
Public Health England has not yet confirmed UK numbers, but said today it has developed from the Indian variant with an element from the South African variant - which can evade vaccines.
A spokesman said: "[The] ‘Nepal’ variant is Delta with a K417N mutation."
The WHO in Nepal said earlier it is not aware of a new variant in the country
A Nepali official donned in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Suit stands next to medical assistance packagesCredit: Rex
Dr Jeff Barrett, Director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, added: "There have been 91 sequences observed in the GISAID database of B.1.617.2 / Delta with an additional mutation: K417N.
"This mutation is present in B.1.351 / Beta, and is believed to be part of why that variant is less well neutralised by vaccines.
"Because of this possibility, and because Delta appears more transmissible than Beta, scientists are monitoring it carefully.
“This Delta+K417N has been seen in numerous countries, including the UK, Portugal, the USA, and India.
"It has also been observed once in Nepal (which does very little sequencing), and 14 times in Japan, of which 13 are samples from airport quarantine from travellers from Nepal.”
Earlier today the WHO denied claims of a variant linked to Nepal - with health bosses instead warning the Indian strains are rife in the country.
A post on Twitter this morning read: “WHO is not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal.
"The three confirmed variants in circulation are: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The predominant variant currently in circulation in Nepal is Delta (B.1.617.2)."
TRAVEL PLANS SCUPPERED?
India is now seeing a second wave in Covid cases, with devastatingly high deaths and infection numbers daily.
It comes as experts and officials say the Indian mutation will likely become dominant in the UK after it began spreading rapidly during the spring.
Portugal was the first of 12 countries and territories to be rated green just three weeks ago.
However, a member of Sage said the UK need not be overly concerned just yet.
"There are thousands of variants," he said, "this is a virus that is changing all the time."
And Tory peer Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, chairman of the Airport Operators' Association, told the publication: "How many more variants have we got to be worried about?
"What matters is data and the success of our vaccination programme."
But some sources say the number of new countries opening to UK travellers will be "extremely limited" as a result of concern over the Nepal strain and the slower rollout of vaccines across Europe.
It means holidays in Europe may be restricted until August.
Ministers reportedly believe that's the month there'll be a huge reboot for travel abroad.
The PM said Brits must be "cautious" over their holidays.
"We've got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary and I want you to know we will have no hesitation in moving countries from the green list to the amber list, to the red list, if we have to do so," he said.
"The priority is to continue the vaccine rollout to protect the people of this country."
A man has been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Dea-John Reid who was stabbed to death in Birmingham.
Michael Shields, 35, of Castle Bromwich, West Midlands was remanded in custody after appearing before magistrates in the city.
West Midlands Police (WMP) said a 38-year-old man and 14-year-old boy remained in custody for questioning and added investigations were continuing.
Two men, aged 36 and 33, and a 13-year-old boy, face no further action.
Mr Shields, from Alvis Walk, was not asked to enter a plea and will appear before Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
Det Ch Insp Stuart Mobberley said it was a "significant step forward" but the investigation would continue to find if anyone else was involved.
A post-mortem examination confirmed Dea-John died from a stab wound to the chest in College Road, in the Kingstanding area of the city on Monday.
He collapsed in the street and was pronounced dead a short time later.
The force said it was looking into the circumstances which led up to the attack and a specialist family liaison officer had been appointed to support Dea-John's family.
PA Media
In a statement, they said he was an "incredibly talented young boy" and added: "We have lost a son, his siblings have lost a brother and others have lost a friend."
They also thanked people "for their outpouring of love and support throughout this tragic and challenging time".
And they asked: "How many more mothers will have to mourn for their sons for this to stop?"
Dea-John was talented at football, running and gymnastics, a family spokesperson added.
WMP said it had referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as it examined previous incidents involving Dea-John.
Change Your Life, Put Down The Knife
Dea-John was a year nine pupil at Harborne Academy and in a letter to parents and pupils, head teacher Sarah Ross wrote: "Any loss of life at such a young age is tragic, but these circumstances are truly appalling."
The letter, also signed by interim executive lead Sue Woodward, said there would be police officers in and around the school to "ensure the safety of our community" when it reopens on 7 June.
The school has opened an online book of condolence and the head teacher wrote: "We will find ways to remember Dea-John and celebrate his life."
A man has been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Dea-John Reid who was stabbed to death in Birmingham.
Michael Shields, 35, of Castle Bromwich, West Midlands was remanded in custody after appearing before magistrates in the city.
West Midlands Police (WMP) said a 38-year-old man and 14-year-old boy remained in custody for questioning and added investigations were continuing.
Two men, aged 36 and 33, and a 13-year-old boy, face no further action.
Mr Shields, from Alvis Walk, was not asked to enter a plea and will appear before Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
Det Ch Insp Stuart Mobberley said it was a "significant step forward" but the investigation would continue to find if anyone else was involved.
A post-mortem examination confirmed Dea-John died from a stab wound to the chest in College Road, in the Kingstanding area of the city on Monday.
He collapsed in the street and was pronounced dead a short time later.
The force said it was looking into the circumstances which led up to the attack and a specialist family liaison officer had been appointed to support Dea-John's family.
PA Media
In a statement, they said he was an "incredibly talented young boy" and added: "We have lost a son, his siblings have lost a brother and others have lost a friend."
They also thanked people "for their outpouring of love and support throughout this tragic and challenging time".
And they asked: "How many more mothers will have to mourn for their sons for this to stop?"
WMP said it had referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as it examined previous incidents involving Dea-John.
Change Your Life, Put Down The Knife
Dea-John was a year nine pupil at Harborne Academy and in a letter to parents and pupils, head teacher Sarah Ross wrote: "Any loss of life at such a young age is tragic, but these circumstances are truly appalling."
The letter, also signed by interim executive lead Sue Woodward, said there would be police officers in and around the school to "ensure the safety of our community" when it reopens on 7 June.
The school has opened an online book of condolence and the head teacher wrote: "We will find ways to remember Dea-John and celebrate his life."
A man has been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Dea-John Reid who was stabbed to death in Birmingham.
Michael Shields, 35, of Castle Bromwich, West Midlands was remanded in custody after appearing before magistrates in the city.
West Midlands Police (WMP) said a 38-year-old man and 14-year-old boy remained in custody for questioning and added investigations were continuing.
Two men, aged 36 and 33, and a 13-year-old boy, face no further action.
Mr Shields, from Alvis Walk, was not asked to enter a plea and will appear before Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
Det Ch Insp Stuart Mobberley said it was a "significant step forward" but the investigation would continue to find if anyone else was involved.
A post-mortem examination confirmed Dea-John died from a stab wound to the chest in College Road, in the Kingstanding area of the city on Monday.
He collapsed in the street and was pronounced dead a short time later.
The force said it was looking into the circumstances which led up to the attack and a specialist family liaison officer had been appointed to support Dea-John's family.
PA Media
In a statement, they said he was an "incredibly talented young boy" and added: "We have lost a son, his siblings have lost a brother and others have lost a friend."
They also thanked people "for their outpouring of love and support throughout this tragic and challenging time".
And they asked: "How many more mothers will have to mourn for their sons for this to stop?"
WMP said it had referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as it examined previous incidents involving Dea-John.
PA Media
Dea-John was a year nine pupil at Harborne Academy and in a letter to parents and pupils, head teacher Sarah Ross wrote: "Any loss of life at such a young age is tragic, but these circumstances are truly appalling."
The letter, also signed by interim executive lead Sue Woodward, said there would be police officers in and around the school to "ensure the safety of our community" when it reopens on 7 June.
The school has opened an online book of condolence and the head teacher wrote: "We will find ways to remember Dea-John and celebrate his life."
