Saturday, 19 June 2021

Germany Opens Borders for Vaccinated Third-Country Travellers From June 25

The German government has decided to permit entry for travellers from third countries who have been vaccinated with one of the Coronavirus vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Starting from June 25, 2021, fully vaccinated third-country travellers are eligible to enter the territory of Germany, even for non-essential purposes like tourism and visiting friends and family members, if 14 days have passed since they were vaccinated.

“14 days after receiving the last necessary vaccination dose, third-country nationals may enter the country for any permissible purpose if the general legal requirements for residence are met. In particular, visiting trips and tourist entries will be possible again for vaccinated people,” the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Home Affairs notes in a press release announcing the move.

The vaccines approved by EMA are Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen.

According to the same Ministry, travellers reaching the country by plane will have to prove their vaccinated status and present the carrier with a negative test result before departure.

The proof of vaccination should be an EU COVID vaccination certificate or a comparable certificate issued by the travellers’ country of residence, either in German, English, French, Italian or Spanish.

The certificate must contain the following information:

  • Surname, first name and date of birth of the certificate holder

  • Date of vaccination and number of jabs

  • The manufacturer of the vaccine and the name of the vaccine

  • Name and address of the person/institution responsible for carrying out the vaccination

British travellers will not benefit from Germany’s border reopening as the Federal Government has decided to keep in place the entry ban for arrivals from virus variant areas, which the UK currently is.

As of June 18, the following counties and regions are placed in the list of virus variant areas:

Botswana                Malawi                    South Africa

Brazil                       Mozambique          Uruguay

Eswatini                  Nepal                      United Kingdom

India                         Zambia 

Lesotho                   Zimbabwe     

 

Entry from China is also restricted due to the reciprocity measure currently in place between this country and the EU.

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Friday, 18 June 2021

The U.K. Considers Plan to Open Foreign Travel for Vaccinated Passengers

British officials are considering plans to open up international travel for passengers who’ve been fully inoculated against Covid-19, allowing a resumption of tourism to more than 150 countries and territories including the vital U.S. market and some of the most popular European destinations.

Under the policy, which is still being discussed inside the government, people who have received both doses of coronavirus vaccine would not need to quarantine on entry from medium-risk countries on the so-called amber list.

That would provide a major boost to airlines and tourism businesses, which have been hammered since the pandemic first prompted governments to restrict cross-border travel. While airline shares surged on the possible adjustment, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said Thursday that “absolutely no decisions” have been made.

Under current rules, destinations are coded red for the highest coronavirus infection risk, amber for medium risk and green for the lowest risk. Travelers are advised against going to amber or red list countries.

People who arrive in England from destinations on the amber list must quarantine at home or in the place where they are staying for 10 days, and take at least two Covid-19 tests during the period.

“We are always learning more about the virus and its variants,” Johnson’s spokesman Max Blain told reporters. “At this stage in the pandemic, our current approach is the right one, but we keep our measures under review.”

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Thursday, 17 June 2021

Vistara To Have Flights With Fully Vaccinated Crew

According to a FE report, in a recent announcement made by air passenger carrier Vistara, the company has been vaccinating its pilots, crew members. On Wednesday, Vistara operated a special flight from Delhi to Mumbai where all the cabin crew, as well as the pilot on board, were vaccinated with both doses of the novel Coronavirus vaccine. This was the first time the crew members of the airlines were completely vaccinated and they will also be operating the return flight. According to a press note released by Vistara, there will be more flights in operation where the staff on board will be vaccinated. The company added that the number of people being fully vaccinated and operating the flight will increase in the coming days.

Vistara, which is a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, is trying to make sure that the highest standards of safety are being taken care of onboard. Commenting on the recent vaccination move, Vinod Kannan, Chief Commercial Officer, Vistara, said that vaccination is the best defence people have right now against the Covid-19 pandemic and will allow people around the world to get back to some normalcy. This will also aid in the recovery of the aviation industry. He added that Vistara is trying to make sure that all of the members associated with the company are vaccinated so their safety can be ensured along with their families and customers they serve.

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Wednesday, 16 June 2021

Vaccination key to boosting tourism and hospitality sector, say stakeholders

As the country opens up, many are planning vacations to bite into that slice of wanderlust. And to revive the severely impacted industry, those associated with the travel and hospitality sector feel that boosting vaccination drive is the way forward.

Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas recently announced making some travel destinations 100% Covid-vaccinated spots by prioritising vaccination for those working in the industry. To “send out a message that Kashmir is safe for tourists”, Jammu & Kashmir Secretary (Tourism) Sarmad Hafeez also fast-tracked inoculation for travel and tourism stakeholders.

Prioritising immunisation of front-desk professionals, displaying the status of vaccinated staff on a public forum and arranging a jab for resort workers in remote areas — industry insiders believe such measures will help regain the confidence of travellers. “We believe a slow unlock will bring back domestic travellers, who’ll be looking for secluded accommodations and safe ways to travel. Vaccine access will help bring back the economic growth that tourism enables,” says Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, general manager - Airbnb India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

After being vaccinated, people will look to travel for a break, believes Vikram Lalvani, chief of revenue, sales and destinations, Sterling Holiday Resorts, who are tying up with local administrations to assist in inoculating frontline staff in various remote districts.

Rebooting globally

Thailand, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt have ramped up the vaccination drive for tourism industry workers. Phuket is ready to welcome fully vaccinated travellers from July 1. Malaysian and Sri Lankan associations are urging the government to fast-track vaccination for the sector.

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Tuesday, 15 June 2021

Germany to lift travel restrictions for most countries from July 1

Germany will lift coronavirus travel restrictions for most countries from July 1, foreign minister Heiko Mass said Friday.

“After more than a year we can lift the general warning against travel to risk areas with a seven-day cumulative incidence below 200,” Hass said.

Restrictions however will stay in place for countries with higher levels of Covid-19 infections and where virulent variants of the virus are circulating, like Britain and India.

“With the summer, hope and confidence are returning to Germany. In many places, the number of infections is falling and more and more citizens are vaccinated,” Hass said.

Despite easing travel, the minister stressed that lifting restrictions should not translate into “carelessness” and invited people to travel with “reason and a sense of proportion”.

The list of countries no longer considered risk areas include Austria, Canada, the United States, Greece, and Croatia among others.

Travelers from these areas will also be able to travel to Germany with no restrictions.

Georgia, Mexico, the region of Lisbon and the Spanish autonomous city Ceuta are now considered “basic” or low risk areas. But Malaysia, Mongolia, Namibia and Sri Lanka have been moved up to high risk areas.

Germany implemented tough travel restrictions during the first wave in March 2020.

The incidence rate in Germany dropped to 19 per 100,000 people on Friday and almost 1 in 4 people is fully vaccinated.