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The prime minister of Australia has today, 27 April, announced in a televised news conference that the country has suspended direct flights from India in response to a surge of COVID-19 cases in India. The suspension is currently due to be in force until at least 15 May, and primarily impacts two passenger services from India into Sydney, plus two repatriation flights from India to Darwin, totalling around 500 arrivals.

The government of the territory has announced that the British Virgin Islands will from 15 May reduce its quarantine requirement to one day for passengers fully vaccinated against COVID-19, pending a negative PCR test undertaken upon arrival. All passengers, including those who are vaccinated, will still be required to produce a negative COVID-19 PCR test result obtained within five days of travel and will then be subjected to the additional PCR test upon arrival. Otherwise, entry protocols will remain the same for un-vaccinated arrivals.

The U.S. airline has announced that it will add more than 480 daily flights to its domestic schedule in June, bringing its total number of daily domestic departures to more than 3,100. The increase will put the Chicago-based carrier at 67% of its June 2019 domestic schedule and 60% of its total June 2019 flying. Among the new routes the airline will introduce in June are Hawaii services from Chicago O'Hare to Kona, and from Newark to Maui.

The country's tourism ministry has outlined plans for Spain to begin welcoming visitors from June, following a pilot trial of COVID-19 digital health certificates at all 46 Spanish airports in May. The nation's government has been reportedly planning for vaccine certification since February due to the importance of tourism to the Spanish economy.

The country's government has announced that Greece will lift current quarantine restrictions on COVID-19-free visitors from more countries including Australia and Russia from 3 May, as it extends exemptions prior to formally re-opening to tourism on 15 May. Visitors from these countries are to be allowed into Greece without spending a week in quarantine as long as they are vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19; As well as Australia and Russia, Greece will lift restrictions on visitors from New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda and Singapore.

The country's government has ordered its capital of Bangkok to close public venues and sporting facilities from 26 April until at least 9 May, after Thailand reported a record daily rise in COVID-19 infections and deaths. The closures apply to venues including public parks, gyms, swimming pools, meeting halls, internet shops, daycare centres, sports fields, museums and libraries; Bangkok and 40 provinces have also made the wearing of face masks in public mandatory.

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it has suspended passenger flights from India effective 25 April for the 10 days; furthermore, passengers who have transited through India in the last 14 days will not be accepted to travel from any other point to the UAE. The measure has been taken in response to sharp rises in COVID-19 cases and variants within India.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will resume four weekly services to Mexico City via Barcelona from 2 July; the route will be operated with a two-class Emirates Boeing 777-200LR aircraft which offers 38 business class seats in a two-two-two configuration and 264 seats in economy. Emirates flight EK255 will depart Dubai at 03.25, arriving in Barcelona at 08.35, before departing again at 10.50 and arriving into Mexico City at 16.05 the same day (all local times).

The country's government has confirmed the pending implementation of what it calls a 'short and powerful' state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures, as the country battles to contain a spike in cases of COVID-19. Under the measures to be enforced from 25 April to 11 May, the government will require restaurants, bars, and karaoke parlours serving alcohol to close, and big sporting events to be held without spectators. Department stores, cinemas and other commercial facilities larger than 1,000 square metres will need to close, while companies will be asked to make greater allowances for people to work from home; schools will though remain open.

The government of the islands of Tahiti has said that they will re-open their borders from 1 May to U.S. passengers, and will waive quarantine requirements for those who are vaccinated for COVID-19, or can show proof of recent recovery. However, all passengers will still have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result obtained within three days of departing for Tahiti, and take another test on arrival. Arrivals without proof of a vaccine or antibodies, as well as children under 16 who currently aren't eligible for vaccines, will have to quarantine for 10 days on arrival.

The government of the state of Western Australia (WA) has announced that Perth and the neighbouring region of Peel are to enter a three-day COVID-19 'lockdown' from 23.59 (local time) on Friday 23 April; the measures are in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 in WA's hotel quarantine system. Restrictions during the three day period will include the requirement to leave home only for essential reasons, and the wearing of face masks in public during all but rigorous exercise.

The government of Singapore has eased travel restrictions and will now once again allow South African passengers to transit through the country. Only passengers transiting through Singapore Changi Airport are affected, and restrictions for people wanting to enter Singapore from South Africa remain in force.

The U.S. State Department has added at least 116 countries this week to its 'Level Four: Do Not Travel' advisory, putting the UK, Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, Germany and others on the list, citing a 'very high' level of COVID-19. Previously the department said it would boost the number of countries receiving its highest advisory rating to about 80% of countries worldwide; after multiple updates throughout the week, it now lists a total of 150 countries out of an approximate total of 200. It is not known when the updates will be completed.

The country's government yesterday, 21 April, implemented a nighttime curfew and other local mobility restrictions in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases threatening to overwhelm hospitals; in 16 of the country's 24 provinces, only workers in the healthcare, food and other sectors deemed essential will be allowed to circulate over weekends and during evenings from Monday through to Thursday while the measure is in place - which will be for 28 days from 23 April.

The country's deputy director of tourism has said that the government of Anguilla will impose a 14-day COVID-19 'lockdown' from 23.59 (local time) on 22 April, citing a surge in cases of the virus on the island as the cause. The airport, and ferry services connecting Anguilla with St. Maarten/Martin, are closed to incoming passengers, although those already on the island will be allowed to leave. Otherwise, all people on other than those providing essential services are required to stay home; public gatherings are prohibited; schools are closed, and restaurants and other food establishments are restricted to take-out services only.

The Dubai-based airline has confirmed that the suspension of inbound flights from South Africa (Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) to Dubai has been further extended up to & including 30 May; up until this date only daily passenger services outbound from Dubai to Johannesburg will continue.

The airline has announced that its passengers due to travel before 31 May will be among the first to trial the IATA Travel Pass app to manage their travel health credentials. The new technology will be tried on routes from the airline's hub in Abu Dhabi to Chicago, New York, Washington and Toronto; the app will enable Etihad’s passengers to create a ‘digital passport’ to receive COVID-19 test results and verify they are eligible to undertake their journey.

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reportedly warned that it could impose restrictions on people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, as the region’s business and tourism hub pushes its immunisation campaign. The UAE, where social distancing and mask-wearing in public are required, is among the countries with the world’s fastest COVID-19 vaccination programmes.

The island's government has announced the addition of an entry requirement for U.S. passengers; a rapid COVID-19 antigen test on the third day of a stay in Curacao is now mandatory, in addition to the existing entry requirements of a Digital Immigration Card and a Passenger Locator Card (PLC) uploaded within 48 hours of travel - and proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result obtained within 72 hours of departure. Passengers typically will receive their antigen test results within 20 minutes to one hour, on average. The antigen tests in Curacao vary in price but typically start at $20 USD.

The country's domestic COVID-19 travel restrictions, set up to curb the spread of the virus, may be due to end on 3 May according to a report by Reuters quoting a French government source. The country's president announced France’s third national lockdown at the end of March, and the government has previously said it could re-open some businesses and leisure activities - such as outdoor seating at bars and restaurants - by mid-May.