In this file photo taken on Aug 11, 2013, moais stone statues of the Rapa Nui culture are seen on the Ahu Tongariki site on Easter Island, 3,200 km off the Chilean coast in the Pacific Ocean. GREGORY BOISSY AFP SANTIAGO LONDON MEXICO CITY -- Easter Island, one of Chile's biggest tourist attractions, will be open on Aug 1 after access was restricted at the beginning of the COVID 19 epidemic, Chile's government said on Friday.
Easter Island, located more than 3,200 km from the coast of Chile, has over a thousand stone statues, giant heads that were carved centuries ago by the island's inhabitants, which have brought it fame and UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
The economy ministry said that an increase in flights two or three weekly flights will be allowed as of August 1, based on the epidemiological situation and the opening of tourism in conditions that will be communicated in a timely manner.
The government said it will improve health infrastructure to handle eventual coronaviruses cases in the remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, known for its stone Moai statues. The government plans to give subsidies to small businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic.
READ MORE: Chile says Sinovac vaccine is 67% effective in preventing infection.
Residents of the island protested the presence of tourists when the epidemic started in March 2020, even taking over the airport to stop flights from the mainland.
In order to reopen the island, the government has started an official dialogue to find a solution to the territorial conflict that has existed for over 50 years between the local community and the state, it said in the statement.
The government agreed to implement reparation and historical recognition measures while residents agreed to stop occupying the airport to start the dialogue.
Britain reduced its COVID-19 alert level from four to three on Friday, saying the Omicron-variant wave of the virus was subsiding and healthcare pressures continued to decrease in all nations.
For the first time in history, the UK sees more than 120,000 daily COVID 19 cases.
According to a statement from the UKHSA UK Health Security Agency, the UK Chief Medical Officers and NHS England Medical Director have recommended to ministers that COVID Alert Level should move from level four to level three, the chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
On December 12 when Omicron was spreading rapidly, the alert level was raised.
The first death in the country in Latin America was confirmed by Mexican authorities on Friday, which was the first death of a child from a severe form of hepatitis with unknown origin.
The three-year-old child, originally from the central state of Hidalgo, was transferred to a hospital in Mexico City, but died this week, the Hidalgo Health SecretariatHidalgo Health Secretariat said.
Three other suspected cases of the disease are being investigated in the same state.
Acute hepatitis is not usually seen in children, but in recent weeks doctors have observed an increase in cases of liver inflammation among otherwise healthy children under five years of age.
The origin of the cases is still unknown, so it cannot be attributed to the most common variants of hepatitis A, B, C, D or E to an intoxication or an autoimmune effect.
Disease experts have not ruled out the possibility of a prior COVID infection, but they say that the hepatitis cases are not caused by COVID vaccines.