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The government of Hong Kong announced today, 12 April, that it plans to loosen some COVID-19 restrictions locally for vaccinated residents from 29 April. Bars and pubs, which are currently closed, will be allowed to resume operations in phases provided all staff and customers have been vaccinated. Visitation to public hospitals and care homes could also be permitted for vaccinated people.

The U.S. airline has announced that passengers flying to Hawaii will soon be able to verify their negative COVID-19 test result using 'CommonPass', the digital health passport being developed by the Commons Project with the backing of the World Economic Forum, 37 governments and Internova, the largest travel agency group in the U.S. - 'CommonPass' is one of three digital passport companies the island-state of Hawaii is using in its 'Safe Travels' program.

The U.S. airline has announced that it is the latest carrier offering a COVID-19 'preclearance' service intended to expedite arrival procedures in Hawaii, where the state screens every arriving passenger. Under Hawaii's Safe Travels program, all incoming travelers over the age of five must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result from a state-approved provider or be subject to a 10-day self quarantine period. Now, Southwest Airlines is offering preclearance to passengers departing to Honolulu and to Kahului, on Maui, from its five California gateway cities: Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego and Long Beach.

The country's government has announced that it will suspend international arrivals from India in response to a high number of arrivals testing positive for COVID-19. The suspension of entry applies to all who have been in India in the previous 14 days, including New Zealand citizens and residents, and will be in place until at least 28 April.

The Dubai-based airline has further extended its suspension of inbound passenger flights from South Africa to 22 April; the UAE flag-carrier initially hoped to lift the ban on 8 April and later pushed back its return date to 15 April. This is in line with UAE government directives that restrict the entry of travellers originating from South Africa.

New Zealand's prime minister has confirmed that two-way travel between the country and Australia will be permitted to commence from 23.59 on 18 April, meaning that passengers will be able to travel without needing to quarantine. At this stage, COVID-19 vaccinations are not mandatory for travel, however passengers are encouraged to check both Australian and New Zealand government websites for full details of eligibility.

The airline has announced what it calls a major step forward towards the introduction of digital health passes by partnering with IATA Travel Pass and TrustAssure to launch two separate, complementary trials. From 16 April, Virgin Atlantic will commence a one-month trial of the IATA Travel Pass on its popular London Heathrow-Barbados services, in close collaboration with the government of the Caribbean island, which will accept the pass at its border.

A number of state governments in Australia have announced updated border restrictions in response to the unfolding situation with COVID-19 cases in greater Brisbane. South Australia (SA) has announced it will impose a hard border with greater Brisbane from 4pm today. The ACT has declared greater Brisbane a coronavirus hotspot. From 6pm Monday, if you’ve returned from greater Brisbane between March 11 and March 14, you should get tested and isolate until you receive a negative result. If you returned from greater Brisbane from March 15, you need to self-isolate until at least 6pm on April 1. Tasmania (TAS) has classified greater Brisbane as high-risk, effective immediately and anyone travelling from the five local government areas will not be permitted to enter without quarantining for up to two weeks.

The Victorian government has declared greater Brisbane as a designated red zone under Victoria’s travel permit system at 6pm Victorian time today. Western Australia (WA) will reintroduce a hard border for travel from Queensland from midnight tonight. Travel from QLD will no longer be permitted, unless you are an exempt traveller. Anyone travelling from greater Brisbane to the Northern Territory (NT) from March 25 onward must enter self-isolation and get tested for coronavirus in the next 72 hours. A hard border hasn't been declared by NT at this stage.

Greater Brisbane will go into a 3-day lockdown from 5pm Monday 29 March 2021. The lockdown is in response to 10 new cases overnight, with four of those cases confirmed as community transmission. Schools will be closed from Tuesday and masks are required indoors.

The middle-eastern airline has announced that it is resuming its service to Mykonos, Greece for the summer season - as the destination welcomes visitors once again. Qatar Airways is planning to operate three flights per week using an A320 aircraft.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that, in line with government directives, passenger flights to and from Nigeria (Lagos and Abuja) are suspended until further notice. Passengers travelling to and from Lagos and Abuja will not be accepted for travel, and those who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days are not permitted to board from any other point to the UAE.

International flights into Melbourne will resume on 8 April 2021. The announcement comes six weeks after flights were halted following a COVID-19 outbreak in February. The state is still bound by the federal government’s restrictions on who can enter Australia from overseas, with only Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia and immediate family members of Australian citizens allowed to enter the country. All arrivals will be required to undergo a compulsory 14-day hotel quarantine.

The government of Norway has announced updated national COVID-19 measures aimed at containing recent spikes in infections, and has also postponed the introduction of a plan to formally re-open society on a local level. The government had originally planned to present a plan in late March for the gradual unwinding of its COVID-19 restrictions. Among the updated measures, anyone returning from a holiday abroad will be forced to undergo 10 days of quarantine at a designated hotel; Norwegians should also begin keeping a two-metre distance from anyone not living in their own household - double the current recommendation - and have no more than two guests at home.

The government of Spain has announced that from 30 March it will ease a 'ban' on travel from the UK, three months after suspending flights for all but Spanish nationals and residents over concerns about a more contagious variant of COVID-19 first detected in the UK. From 30 March, armed with a negative COVID-19 PCR test result, British passengers will be permitted to enter for reasons of imperative health, work or education only, however.

Ukraine is now open for tourism to all nations under normal immigration and visa rules. All foreign travellers must provide proof of a negative PCR test that was performed no longer than 72 hours before arrival in Ukraine. Children under the age of 12 are exempt from this rule. Tourists without a negative COVID-19 PCR test result will not be granted entry into Ukraine. All tourists entering Ukraine will first have to obtain state-run travel insurance for the entire duration of their trip.

The country's government has announced that mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals to the Republic of Ireland from 33 countries deemed high-risk for COVID-19, including South Africa, is due to begin on 26 March 2021; arrivals will be required to pay at least EUR 1875 to stay at one of 24 hotels for a period of two weeks. Quarantine will apply to those arriving from high-risk countries, as well as those without a negative COVID-19 test result, and the quarantine also applies to travellers who have passed through airports in high-risk countries.

The country's government has announced it will begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions from April 2021 by letting hairdressers, spas and other services re-open, while restaurants and cinemas will be allowed to follow suit in May, contingent on the use of COVID-19 'passports'; these documents will show whether the holder has been vaccinated, has previously been infected or has taken a test within the last 72 hours.

The U.S. airline has announced nine additional seasonal U.S. routes to be launched this summer, as it prepares for what it anticipates to be a recovery in leisure travel. The new routes are scheduled to begin from a number of dates throughout May 2021 and include services from New York JFK to Bozeman (Montana); from Boston to Hilton Head (S.C), Traverse City (Michigan) and Bangor (Maine); from Atlanta to Bangor (Maine); from Seattle to Glacier Park (Montana), Fresno (California) and Reno (Nevada); finally, from Detroit to Bozeman (Montana).

The country's government has confirmed that its COVID-19 'lockdown' measures will be extended by another month until at least 18 April, in addition to a number of new restrictions being imposed; the amendment has been made in an effort to curb a surge of COVID-19 infections thought to be driven by new variants of the virus. Amid concern over the rise in Germans traveling abroad on holidays, authorities also agreed on a blanket requirement for air travellers to be tested for COVID-19 before boarding a flight to Germany.