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The country's economy minister has announced that the government had agreed with members of a new expert panel to ease restrictions on holding events from 10 July. The relaxation comes despite Tokyo reportedly confirming 102 new COVID-19 cases as of 6 July, in what was the fifth straight day that the tally of new cases exceeded 100.

The Italian government has suspended all flights from Bangladesh for one week, after a ‘significant number’ of passengers arriving on a flight to Rome on Monday tested positive for COVID-19. Last week the Lazio region, close to Rome, also urged the local Bangladeshi community to test for the virus after clusters of recent cases.

Colombia is extending its nationwide lockdown by more than two weeks after the number of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths has accelerated in several cities. The measures, which were implemented in March, were due to be lifted on 15 July but have now been pushed back to 1 August.

The South African hotel brand has announced the re-opening of select hotels following the country's move to COVID-19 alert level three; they've also opened all booking channels for their hotels into 2021. Re-opening in a phased approach, hotels will operate with selected services and new 'Premier CleanCheck' protocols in place.

The Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet is currently operating 25 flights under India's national repatriation drive, known as the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM). The airline will help bring back close to 4500 Indians stranded in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman under the initiative. SpiceJet has so far operated six of the scheduled special flights, bringing back over a thousand Indian nationals; it will operate another 19 flights this month from Ras Al-Khaimah, Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh and Muscat.

Dubai-based airline Emirates has now resumed passenger flights to and from Pakistan, after a temporary suspension of eight days finishing on 1 July; all passengers arriving in Dubai from Pakistan must, though, carry a negative COVID-19 test result from a branch of Chunghtai Labs, an approved laboratory which will share the results directly with the airline. Branches of the laboratory can be found within all big cities in Pakistan, and passengers must take along their passport and confirmed booking within 96 hours of their departing flight.

Madagascar has placed one of its main regions, which covers the capital Antananarivo, back under a strict lockdown following a surge in COVID-19 infections. The lockdown came into effect on 7 July and will end on 20 July - it includes a ban on traffic in and out of the region and a curfew on the movement of people on the street.

The country of Wales has now started to re-open to tourism as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted. From March, a ‘stay local’ requirement has meant residents were required to stay less than five miles from their home, in addition to restrictions being in place at the border with England. Visitors are now able to travel into and around Wales, and the tourism sector including self-catering accommodation can begin to welcome guests from 11 July, if conditions allow.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the low-cost airline which trades is 'Norwegian', has released its latest round of updates on cancellation, re-booking and changes to services during COVID-19. There is also information on the meal services on board, changes to hand baggage requirements and the mandatory use of face masks on board.

Air New Zealand advises that following a request from the country's government, a hold has been placed on all new bookings for international flights into New Zealand - this is effective immediately until at least 26 July. The measure has been put in place in order to ease pressure on quarantine facilities.

Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad has published details surrounding the collection of COVID-19 PCR test charges for all passengers travelling from the UAE to Beirut, Lebanon; since 1 July, negative PCR test results have been required by Lebanon either before and/or after departure depending on whether testing facilities are available in the passengers' country of origin. Etihad will bear part of the costs payable for arriving testing, but will also add an additional US$50 fee as a tax charge to new and existing tickets.

The UK government is deciding whether to give the green light on London's Heathrow Airport becoming the first UK airport to offer medical COVID-19 tests. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) pilot testing scheme would be available for passengers arriving from countries that are not exempt from England's quarantine regulations such as the U.S., Portugal, China and Brazil. If passengers are given the all-clear with negative tests results they wouldn't have to self-isolate for 14 days. The scheme reportedly has the complete support of the country's transport minister.

The country has announced that its airports will re-open to commercial flights on 1 August; the news follows its 17 June re-opening of domestic tourism and international charter flights. Incoming passengers, including those in transit, will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test from a certified laboratory, taken within 72 hours of arriving in Rwanda. Anyone entering the country will also be subject to self-quarantine on arrival at their own cost, while awaiting the results of a second test within 24 hours.

Bali's local government plan to re-open to international tourism from September, around a month earlier than planned, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the southeast Asian island will gradually re-open to domestic Indonesian visitors this month from 9 July onwards. Officials have said they will be maintaining a 'strict health protocol' to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The government of the Australian state of Victoria have announced that in line with advice from their chief health officer, the areas of both metropolitan Melbourne and nearby Mitchell Shire will return to stage three of 'Stay at Home' restrictions from 23.59 (local time) on 8 July. The measures have been re-introduced due to what the government calls a 'significant increase' in COVID-19 transmission in these areas. Under stage three there are a limited list of essential purposes for which residents are permitted to leave home, including to shop for essential supplies or to exercise.

Following the re-opening of Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on 1 July, passengers arriving in the airport are required to comply with testing and self-isolation measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Depending on the availability of PCR testing in the passengers' country of origin, they will be required to either present a negative result prior to travel and/or complete a testing procedure on arrival in Lebanon; all testing undergone on arrival will be chargeable, but in some cases the fees will be covered by airlines at their discretion.

The country's president has announced a phased re-opening of the country from its COVID-19 lockdown. From today, 7 July, movement restrictions in the Nairobi area will ease, as well as in the port city of Mombasa and northeastern Mandera; a current nationwide curfew between 21.00 and 04.00 has however been extended for a further 30 days. Domestic passenger flights will resume on 15 July, and international travel will resume from 1 August.

The country's government has announced that citizens of the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland, as well as people who live permanently in those countries are no longer required to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival in Latvia, as long as their home countries have maintained an incidence of less than 16 COVID-19 cases in 100,000 people for the previous 14 days. Epidemiological data is updated every Friday and published on the Latvian Centre for Disease Prevention and Control website.

The cross-channel rail provider Eurostar has confirmed that it will reinstate its daily through-train from London St Pancras to the Dutch city if Amsterdam effective as of 9 July. There will be a single service (previously it operated up to three times daily) departing London at 11.04 and arriving into Amsterdam Centraal at 16.11.

The country has extended their current public health emergency status until 14 July, ahead of international tourism being due to resume from the following day. However, curfew restrictions in the Greater Male area have been eased and there are no movement restrictions there from 0500 to 2300 (local time) daily. Maldives will restart tourism and re-open borders for visitors from all nationalities from 15 July. Tourists traveling to the Maldives will be provided a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival.