Spain opens borders to vaccinated tourists
June 7, 2021
Spain will open its borders to all vaccinated travelers from around the world on Monday. "Spain is a safe destination," said Health Minister Carolina Darias. She added that the country was "in the process of reclaiming its global leadership in tourism."
European travelers, who require a negative RT-PCR test to enter Spain, will now be allowed to enter with a cheaper antigen test.
Spain is trying to revive its pandemic-battered economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism.
The United Kingdom, which sends the largest number of tourists to Spain, has yet to remove the country from its at-risk list. British travelers would still have to quarantine after visiting Spain.
Malaga airport is expecting 20 flights from Europe, including cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Lille and London. Cruise boats will also be allowed in Spanish ports from Monday.
Here's an overview of major COVID-19-related stories from around the world.
Asia-Pacific
Thailand started its long-awaited vaccination program on Monday.
Authorities aim to administer 6 million doses of locally made AstraZeneca and imported Sinovac shots this month. Thailand plans to inoculate 70% of its population of more than 66 million people by the end of the year.
Thailand's third wave has been its deadliest, responsible for 80% of its total cases.
About half of the Japanese population believes the Olympics will be held this year, with less than two months to go until the event.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were already postponed from last year due to the pandemic. Many have concerns about the spread of COVID-19 during the games as the safety of athletes, officials, volunteers and the public is in question.
India added 100,636 new cases in the last 24 hours — its lowest daily count in about two months. Several Indian states, including the capital Delhi, have begun cautiously relaxing lockdown measures as the country continues to reel from a deadly second wave.
The south Asian nation has had about 29 million cases so far, with 349,186 dead. Experts believe both those figures to be vastly underreported.
Australia's Victoria state logged 11 new locally contracted cases in the past 24 hours — its highest in a week. Authorities have been working to contain the spread of the highly infectious delta variant.
State capital Melbourne was set to begin easing restrictions from Thursday. However, authorities have yet to decide whether to ease curbs only in some areas of the city.
Europe
Popular dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge are encouraging British users to post "I got my shot," as the UK targets a younger population for its vaccination drive.
In partnership with the government, apps are offering special stickers, badges and bonuses for users who say they have had the jab. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said he was "thrilled that we are partnering up with dating apps to boost vaccine uptake across the country."
The number of cases in Germany rose by 1,117 to 3,701,484. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said the death toll rose by 74 on Sunday, bringing the total to 89,222.
From June 7, everybody in Germany will be able to register for a coronavirus vaccine. Health minister Jens Spahn said, "Our vaccination campaign is continuing at full speed and we are beginning to see the impact that it is having."
Americas
Staff of Brazil's commission investigating the handling of the pandemic on Monday advised against holding the Copa America football tournament.
Brazil was unexpectedly named host of the tournament of South American nations last week. President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Monday that Brazil would host all 28 games between June 13 and July 10. Joint host Colombia was removed due to civil unrest, while Argentina pulled out due to a surge in cases.
tg/rt (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)