Vietnam expands lockdown measures as infections hit new record
According to Reuters, Vietnam widened lockdown measures in its industrialised north part of the country on Tuesday to combat its biggest COVID-19 outbreak so far, as authorities reported a new daily record in new cases that was more than double the previous high.
The health ministry late on Tuesday announced 447 new COVID-19 infections, the biggest jump since the 190 cases seen on May 16, driven by clusters in factory zones in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces. The figure was revised from 457 announced earlier.
“The COVID-19 variant found this time has been spreading very rapidly and widely,” Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said in a statement, without specifying which variant. Vietnam has reported the presence of the highly contagious variant first identified in India.
The outbreak has spread to more than 30…for the rest of the news, please click here and continue reading on Reuters.
Flights from UK to Austria got a stop! Austria bans all direct flights
According to the local.at, Austria will impose a landing ban for all flights from the UK due to the spread of the new Indian coronavirus varian, which was already found in the country. This means entry from the United Kingdom to Austria will only be possible to a limited extent and with a negative PCR test.
Currently only Austrian citizens and residents will be allowed to enter the country, apart from certain groups. The Austrian government announced on Saturday that entry from virus variant states would be permitted for previously agreed humanitarian workers, persons who have been summoned by the courts and people traveling to an international organisation on business, provided they can provide evidence of a negative PCR test result.
Flights from the UK were also banned from landing in Austria between December and March because of the so-called British virus variant. However, on March 21st, flights between the two countries resumed.
For further details, please click here and continue reading on the local.at.
Norway is easing restrictions for some European travelers
According to Sasha Brady from Lonely Planet, the Norwegian government said early this week, it is removing the distinction between necessary and unnecessary travel so that travelers from countries in the United Kingdom, European Economic Area (EEA) or Schengen countries with a good epidemiological situation do not have to enter hotel quarantine upon arrival. People who are traveling to Norway from areas with high infection rates, or from outside Europe, must complete a 10-day hotel quarantine, though the can leave after seven days if they present a negative test result.
“We are now changing the rules for quarantine hotels,” Monica Mæland, Norway’s Minister of Justice, said in a statement. “We remove the distinction between necessary and unnecessary travel when entering Norway, and rather look at the infection pressure in individual countries.”
This means travelers from European Economic Area countries that have fewer than 150 new infections per 100,000 people in the last 14 days, and where a maximum of 4% of those tested are positive, do not have to stay in quarantine hotels. They must carry out the quarantine at home or in another suitable quarantine place.
For further details, please click here and continue reading on Lonely Planet.
no testing requirements from Fully vaccinated US travelers in Puerto Rico
According to Andrea Smith from Lonely Planet, from May 25th, fully vaccinated US tourists do not have to be tested for COVID-19 to enter Puerto Rico. However, travelers coming from any other international destination must present a negative PCR test result, or risk a fine of US $300. All travelers are required to fill out a Traveler Declaration Form.
It was further reported that fully vaccinated travelers who are planning to visit Puerto Rico (more than two weeks after their final jab) must upload their COVID-19 vaccination card to Puerto Rico Health Department’s online portal. Once uploaded, they’ll receive a QR code, which will be scanned when they arrive at the airport.
Across Puerto Rico bars and nightclubs are still closed, but some non-essential businesses did open again. A spokesperson for the tourism board, Discover Puerto Rico, confirmed to Lonely Planet that additional reduced restrictions have come into effect this week. They include an increased capacity to… for the rest of the article from Andrea, please click here and continue reading on Lonely Planet.
Dubai based flydubai adds Mykonos and Santorini to its summer schedule
According to the official press release from Fly Dubai, the Dubai based low-cost airlines has announced today the launch of two new summer routes. The carrier will operate three weekly flights to Mykonos International Airport (JMK) and Santorini (Thira) Airport (JTR) between 18 June and 29 September.
The launch of flights to the two Greek islands brings the number of seasonal routes served by flydubai to six destinations including Bodrum and Trabzon in Turkey, Batumi in Georgia and Tivat in Montenegro.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “we are excited to grow our network and give passengers more options to travel this summer. Demand for travel has started to increase as more countries gradually lift restrictions on international travel. The UAE has recently added Bahrain, Greece and Serbia to the safe travel list which has encouraged more people to start planning their summer holidays. Mykonos and Santorini will be popular choices for travel from the UAE and GCC.”
A safe travel corridor between the UAE and Greece…for the rest of the news, please click here and continue reading on Fly Dubai.
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