By Joshua Berlinger, Kara Fox and Christopher Johnson, CNN
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
During the daily White House Covid briefing today, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will announce that it is low risk to travel if you are vaccinated, according to a source familiar.
The CDC will also say that there is no need to quarantine after international travel if you are vaccinated, the source says.
From CNN's Elanor Pickston in London
England will add Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and Philippines to its travel ban “red list” to protect against new coronavirus variants, the UK government announced on Friday.
The decision to add additional countries comes at a so-called “critical time” for the UK’s vaccination program. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed April as “second dose month” earlier in the week, with the country giving more second doses than first doses of the coronavirus vaccine per day for the first time on Tuesday.
Over 31 million people in the UK have now received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 4.5 million having also received their second shot, according to the latest government data.
Beginning on Friday, April 9, travelers who have been in or through any of the added countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry to England.
British, Irish and third-country nationals with residence rights (including long-term visa holders) arriving will be allowed to enter, but will be required to self-isolate in a government-approved hotel quarantine facility for 10 days.
“With over 30 million vaccinations delivered in the UK so far, the additional restrictions will help to reduce the risk of new variants – such as those first identified in South Africa (SA) and Brazil – entering England,” the government said in a statement.
“So far, surveillance has found that few cases of the [South African] variant have been identified as being imported from Europe, with most coming from other parts of the world,” the statement continued.
From CNN's Radina Gigova and journalist Fernanda Wenzel
On Friday, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said schools will be able to resume in-person classes starting on Monday.
Bars and restaurants will be allowed to receive clients indoors again on Friday, April 9, he said.
According to Paes, Rio de Janeiro is seeing a stabilization in the number of people with Covid-19 symptoms in health facilities. "We are optimists, we are hopeful that in the next few days this number will continue to stabilize and even to decrease," the mayor said.
Beaches and parks will remain closed, and the curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time remains in place.
As of Thursday, 90.1% of Rio de Janeiro's ICU beds were occupied. Since the beginning of the outbreak, the city has registered more than 227,000 coronavirus cases and 20,600 deaths.
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
New York added at least 7,787 new Covid-19 cases, and marked a 3.02% positivity in its Friday report.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is encouraging New Yorkers to stay vigilant reminding them the “pandemic isn’t over.”
The state recorded 63 new deaths in the Friday report.
“New Yorkers should take continuing infections and new variants into account as we move forward toward the light at the end of the tunnel together,” he said.
The numbers released Friday are down from 8,888 cases reported by the state Thursday, with a 3.71% positivity.
Note: These numbers were released by the States health department and may not line up with Johns Hopkins University data.
From CNN’s Chloe Adams
A limited number of spectators are set to return to sporting events in the UK, with pilot events being planned at London’s Wembley Stadium, beginning with the FA Cup Semi-Final fixture between Leicester City and Southampton on April 18.
Brent council in England confirmed to CNN that email invites have been issued to locals in the Wembley Park area to register interest in attending the FA Cup semi-final fixture, as well as the Carabao Cup final between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City on Sunday April 25, at Wembley Stadium.
The email confirmed socially distanced spectators will be allowed in to each pilot event with local care staff, local school teachers and pupils over 18, Wembley Park residents are top of the list as they are ‘"already in regular testing regimes."
The events are expected to be attended by about 4000 fans – part of the UK government’s roadmap plan to reopen which was announced in February and is ahead of schedule.
In the largest outdoor seated venues, where crowds can be spread out, up to 10,000 people will be able to attend (or a quarter-full, whichever is lower.)
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers welcomed the reports when asked in a news conference on Thursday.
“It’s great news,” he said, “4000 (fans) in a 90,000+ stadium will look small, but I think it’s the access for supporters. Of course, both teams would have loved it to have been their own supporters, given the opportunity, but at least we were making movements towards supporters coming back, so that’s great news.”
The FA Cup semi-final fixture will mark the first return of spectators to UK sporting venues since the tier system was scrapped in December and will be seen as a positive step with European football’s showpiece event, the European Championship set to host it’s semi-final and final fixtures at Wembley Stadium in July.
CNN has reached out to England’s Football Association for comment.
From CNN's John Bonifield
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to announce new travel guidelines on Friday for people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a federal official.
More details are expected at a White House Covid-19 Response Briefing at that will take place at 11a.m. ET.
From CNN's Ryan Prior
Those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can safely gather for Easter this Sunday, indoors and without wearing masks, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Twitter.
In a series of tweets, the public health agency also recommended that those who aren't fully vaccinated enjoy Easter dinner and egg hunts with the people they live with, or outdoors while six feet apart, in order to protect against spreading Covid-19.
The reminders align with the existing CDC guidance for people who are fully vaccinated.
The CDC says it's still learning how vaccines protect against the coronavirus, and advises that fully vaccinated people going out in public still wear masks and take precautions until the agency knows more.
See the tweets:
From CNN's Virginia Langmaid
While Covid-19 vaccines appear to provide protection against the identified variants of the novel coronavirus, vaccination is also important to prevent further viral mutation, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told MSNBC on Friday.
“The good news is that the vaccines that we have to date have proven to be both safe and effective, including against the variants,” Murthy said. “Our concern is that in the future, some of those variants may be much more resistant to protection from a vaccine.”
Murthy said variant development is a motivating factor in increasing vaccination rates.
“We are in this race between the vaccines and the variants. The more quickly we get people vaccinated, the more we’ll be able to lower the overall amount of infection in our community,” he said.
“When that infection is high, there are more chances for the virus to replicate, to mutate, and lead to these variants.”
From CNN’s Chris Isidore
The US economy's recovery from the pandemic strengthened in March as employers added 916,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The job gain was up from the revised 468,000 increase in jobs reported for February.
The unemployment rate improved to 6%, compared with the 6.2% in February.
But while some sectors are back to their pre-pandemic employment levels, the overall US economy still has more than 8 million fewer jobs than it did before Covid-19 related job losses started a year ago.