Germany will soon drop a mask mandate on long-distance trains and buses, one of the country’s last remaining COVID-19 restrictions, the health minister said Friday. The mandate will be dropped on Feb. 2, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced in Berlin. FILE PHOTO:People wear face masks to protect themself against the coronavirus as they leave and get on board of a subway train in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) Other European countries already have scrapped mask mandates in public transport, and Lauterbach faced increasing pressure to follow suit in recent weeks. Masks remain mandatory in doctors’ practices, while masks and negative tests are still required to enter hospitals and nursing homes. Rules for local transportation are a matter for Germany’s 16 state gov...
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Canada will remove all COVID-19 restrictions for inbound travelers from Oct. 1, as well as testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements, the government said on Monday. The decision to drop the restrictions was based on Canada's vaccination rate, availability of newer vaccines and treatments, as well as scientific modeling that shows the country had passed the peak of the latest wave of coronavirus infections, the government said. "Thanks largely to Canadians who have rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated, we have reached the point where we can safely lift the sanitary measures at the border," Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said. FILE PHOTO: Passengers arrive at Toronto's Pearson airport after mandatory coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing took effect for international ...
Read MoreCathay Pacific to gradually increase capacity after crew quarantine rules lifted
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said it would gradually increase flying capacity in the coming months after the Hong Kong government on Friday lifted rules requiring passenger crew to quarantine in a hotel for three days on return to the city. The onerous crew quarantine rules had made rostering difficult and were a major impediment to the airline returning to more normal operations. Cathay's passenger capacity was at just 12.4% of pre-pandemic levels in the month of July, although its cargo capacity was at 51% in part because cargo crews were no longer required to quarantine. Before the passenger crew rules were lifted, Cathay forecast it would reach 25% of pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year. Cathay said it would continue to add back flights as quickly as feasible, b...
Read MoreJapan is considering ending its pre-arrival COVID-19 testing for inbound travellers who are already vaccinated, Nikkei reported late on Monday. The current rule requires travellers to show a negative test result within 72 hours of their departure, the report said. As some countries curtail their testing capabilities, obtaining the necessary documents has become more difficult. FILE PHOTO: Kimono-clad tourists wearing protective face masks walk along Nakamise Street at Asakusa district, a popular sightseeing spot, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS/Issei Kato A decision will be made soon, taking the country's case count into consideration. The easing is likely to take effect within a few weeks. Japan's coronavirus-related entry rules ar...
Read MoreCarnival Corp's major cruise lines will drop mandatory COVID-19 testing for vaccinated guests and allow unvaccinated passengers to travel without an exemption in some cases, the company said on Friday. The decision affects Carnival Cruise, Princess Cruises and Cunard and follows a similar move by rival Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd earlier this week. FILE PHOTO: The Carnival cruise ship Sunrise is seen docked at Miami Port, in Miami, Florida, U.S., June 18, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello Unvaccinated guests - who still have to present a negative COVID-19 result - no longer need to apply for an exemption except for Carnival Cruise's sailings in Australia or on its voyages 16 nights and longer. The cruise industry has in recent months bounced back from an over one-year-long paus...
Read MoreInternational travelers will no longer need to show proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding flights to the United States, federal health officials announced Friday, ending one of the nation’s last pandemic-related travel requirements. The requirement will end at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that the requirement will end early Sunday morning. The health agency said it will continue to monitor state of the pandemic and will reassess the need for a testing requirement if the situation changes. “This step is possible because of the progress we’ve made in our fight against COVID-19,” said U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra. FILE PHOTO: Travelers pass a sign near a COVID-19 testing site in Terminal E at Logan Airpo...
Read MoreFiji has made two very significant changes in entry requirements for travellers. Fully vaccinated travellers to Fiji will no longer be required to produce a pre-arrival negative Covid-19 test to enter Fiji. This move reduces costs and lends greater convenience to those travelling to Fiji. These changes have been made effective from Sunday, 1 May 2022. Besides, the vaccination requirement for entry into Fiji has also been widened. All travellers 16 years and above must now display proof of full COVID-19 vaccination prior to entering the country. A 14-day waiting period prior to travel following full vaccination applies. Fiji COVID-19 recognised vaccines include AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson (Janssen), Nuvaxovid (Novavax), Coronavac (Sinovac), Covishield, BBIBP-CorV (...
Read MoreACI EUROPE (Airports Council International) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have called for all remaining COVID restrictions applying to intra-EU and Schengen area travel to be dropped, including all testing requirements, the need to present proof of vaccination, or complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF). This includes dropping mask-wearing for travel within or between States where it is no longer required in other indoor environments. COVID-19, and specifically the Omicron variant, is now pervasive throughout all of Europe, and population immunity is at such levels that the risk of hospitalization or death has dramatically reduced, especially for vaccinated people. States are adopting surveillance strategies to ensure public health, in the same way as they do f...
Read MoreSingapore plans to widen its quarantine-free travel programme to include fully vaccinated individuals from South Korea and the United States as the financial hub moves cautiously to reopen its borders. Fully vaccinated travelers can travel between the city-state’s Changi airport and South Korea’s Incheon airport, taking COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests instead of observing quarantine from Nov. 15, the transport ministry said in a statement on Friday. People, some of them wearing protective face masks, walk at Singapore's Changi Airport, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). REUTERS/Edgar Su Singapore, a travel and tourism hub, began a similar programme for visitors from Germany and Brunei last month, and is working to include the United State...
Read MoreThailand will waive its mandatory quarantine requirement in Bangkok and nine regions from Nov. 1 to vaccinated arrivals, authorities said on Monday, as the country tries to boost its immunisation rate and revive its battered tourism sector. The regions include popular tourist areas Chiang Mai, Phangnga, Krabi, Hua Hin, Pattaya, and Cha-am, and follow the successful reopening of Phuket and Samui islands to vaccinated people in pilot schemes since July. The country is keen to welcome back foreign visitors, after nearly 18 months of strict entry policies that contributed to a collapse in tourism, a key sector that drew 40 million visitors in 2019. Authorities will also reduce the quarantine time nationwide for visitors arriving from Oct. 1, the COVID-19 task force said, halving ...
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