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The government of the Seychelles has announced that from 2 June, South Africa has been reinstated to the non-permitted list of countries for entry; this means that only Seychellois and permanent residents are allowed to enter the Seychelles, and are to be quarantined for 10 days in a certified establishment regardless of of proof of COVID-19 vaccination - which should be submitted when applying for entry. More information can be found on the Seychelles government portal.

The quarantine-free travel between NZ and Victoria had been scheduled until 19.59 (local NZ time) on 28 May; however, due to the increase in community cases of COVID-19 in Victoria, the NZ Government has announced an extension of an additional seven days until at least 19.59 (local NZ time) on 4 June.

The government of the Australian state of Queensland has announced that, in response to a COVID-19 outbreak within Victoria, it will from 27 May reinstate some travel restrictions for its residents who are set to travel to and from the southern region. From 27 May, only Queensland residents who have been in the region since 11 May will be allowed to return to the state, but they will have to go straight into hotel quarantine. Non-residents will be turned away, unless they have an approved exemption, but even then they will also be required to complete the mandated government-approved quarantine. Visitors and Queenslanders travelling from the City of Whittlesea from 27 May will also be sent into hotel quarantine, unless they have a valid exemption.

The government of the Australian state of Victoria have just announced a seven-day COVID-19 'lockdown' to be imposed with immediate effect from midnight today until 23.59 (local time) on 3 June; the restrictions are being introduced in a bid to curb the state's growing COVID-19 outbreak. During this time, residents will only be allowed to leave their homes for a limited number of reasons. Meanwhile, the state of Western Australia is set to close its border to Victoria at 10.00 (local time) this morning, with travel being restricted. For the latest state border conditions for Australia and New Zealand, click the link in this alert.

The government of Croatia has announced the re-opening of its borders to international tourism, having reportedly relaxed the majority of its previous COVID-19 restrictions for visitors who are fully vaccinated against the virus, have proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, or who have recently recovered from an infection. However, strict health measures will be enforced for visitors, including on beaches and in bars, such as social distancing requirements.

The government of New Zealand has announced that quarantine-free travel from the Australian state of Victoria to the country has been paused, while the source of infection of five COVID-19 cases detected in the city of Melbourne is investigated; the pause commenced at 19.59 (local time) on 25 May and initially will be in place for 72 hours. The measures is a one-way pause only, meaning that while no flights will depart from Victoria to New Zealand, services from New Zealand to Victoria can continue.

The country's government has announced a strict COVID-19 'lockdown' in all high-risk areas of the country in response to a rise in infections; the new measures will last until at least 30 May, and will involved the restriction of the circulation and movement of people. Face-to-face social, economic, educational, religious, and sports activities will be suspended, while only essential services will remain permitted.

The government of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has announced that from 25 May it will relax its entry protocols for inbound U.S. passengers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19; arrivals will be required to present a valid vaccination card upon entry. In addition a local curfew, which has been in effect since March 2020 from midnight to 05.00 (local time), has been eliminated. Valid COVID-19 test results will continue to be required for all un-vaccinated passengers and for those arriving on international flights.

U.S. carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have resumed flights to Tel Aviv, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire in unrest that had included rockets fired in the vicinity of Ben Gurion International Airport. Delta Air Lines operated its first flight from New York to Tel Aviv since early last week on the evening of 21 May; United Airlines also resumed service on 21 May, and American Airlines plans to restart flights from New York to Tel Aviv on 24 May.

The U.S. government and its health officials have as of 24 May warned its citizens against travel to Japan due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, which is preparing to host the Olympics in just two months. The twin alerts don’t prevent U.S. citizens from visiting the country, but could have an impact on insurance rates for passengers, and may factor into decisions by Olympic athletes and spectators on whether to compete in or attend the games, which are due to start in July.

The government of India has said that its capital of New Delhi will start to ease its strict COVID-19 'lockdown' restrictions from 31 May if cases of the virus continue to fall within the city; one of the worst hit locations, New Delhi went into 'lockdown' on 20 April, but new cases have declined in recent weeks and test positivity rate has fallen under 2.5%, compared to 36% last month.

The government of Zambia has revised its COVID-19 entry requirements, meaning that arriving passengers from South Africa will be required to undergo a quarantine period; from 24 May, at all points of entry, all inbound passengers must present a negative PCR test certificate, conducted within 72 hours of departure from the country of origin. Passengers from a country on the high-risk list will have to quarantine at home or in a designated facility for 14 days, at their own cost. Only travellers who have complete documentary proof that they are fully vaccinated will be exempt from quarantine.

The country's government re-opened its borders to international tourists on 24 May following a fall in COVID-19 infections, but said it would take time for passengers to start arriving and to revive its tourism industry. Under an easing of its restrictions, a plan to start letting in small groups of tourists from countries using COVID-19 vaccines of which it approves will begin; due to continue until 15 June, visits by 20 groups of between 5 and 30 tourists from countries including the United States, Britain and Germany have been given the green light.

The government of Spain has said that it will officially lift COVID-19 restrictions for passengers from the UK and Japan on 24 May, when a decree takes effect; both countries will be on a list of those whose residents are able to avoid restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU, and will not need a negative COVID-19 PCR test result. However, UK tourists travelling to Spain will still have to quarantine on their return.

The government of Germany has announced that it will suspend most travel from the UK starting on 23 May, amid concerns about the spread of a COVID-19 variant first discovered in India. German citizens and residents will still be allowed to enter the country from the UK but will be required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival, according to a release from Germany’s public health institution as it simultaneously classified the UK as an area of concern.

The tourism authority of Spain has said that from 7 June, U.S. citizens will be eligible to visit the country if they have received a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, at least 14 days prior to their arrival; proof of vaccination must be shown, and eligible passengers will not be subject to any period of quarantine on arrival in Spain.

The government of the Maldives has said that it is in the process of creating a travel corridor between the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which will allow COVID-19 vaccinated passengers to move freely between the two nations; however as of now, no specific date has been revealed.

The U.S. airline has announced the expansion of the capabilities of its 'Verifly' health pass app to accept COVID-19 vaccine documentation; passengers headed to the Bahamas, El Salvador and Guatemala can now upload a photo of both sides of their vaccination card into the app. The airline will then verify the documentation remotely, streamlining check-in and processing at the airport. Each of those countries now allow fully vaccinated visitors from the U.S. to enter without testing, and further destinations are expected to soon be added by the airline.

Spanish government travel authority Turespaña has announced the launch of a new tool within its 'Travel Safe' microsite for international tourists wishing to travel to the country. The new tool allows passengers to consult COVID-19 travel restrictions on entry to Spain, as well as entry and exit requirements imposed by their respective countries. The microsite features a continually updated information system on these restrictions, meaning all the necessary information for planning a trip from 50 countries is readily available.

The country's borders have reportedly re-opened to arriving U.S. passengers travelling on approved 'quarantine-free' flights, according to announcements from carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines; Italy on 16 May began to welcome leisure passengers on the flights, which previously were open only to U.S. citizens visiting the country for work or other essential travel. Regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, to enter the country passengers must provide proof of a negative test result obtained within 72 hours of departure, and then pass another test on arrival to avoid Italy's 14-day quarantine.