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Austria's foreign minister today announced the acceleration of a plan to re-open the country's borders to all neighbouring countries except Italy, as of 4 June 2020. All COVID-19 related border restrictions and health checks in relation to Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary will no longer apply.

It was announced today that from 16 June the US government would ban Chinese passenger flights from flying to the United States, in a move seen to be a penalisation upon China for 'failing to comply' with an existing arrangement between the two countries. The order applies to Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines - as well as smaller Sichuan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

Latvia has today opened its borders to arrivals from most European without requiring visitors to self-isolate. However the UK, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Spain and Ireland are not included, and any arrivals who have visited these countries in the last 14 days will still be required to self-isolate.

New Zealand's prime minister has said today that by next week the country could move to alert level one, which means all social distancing measures and curbs on mass gatherings will be lifted. Borders will though would remain closed to international arrivals at this time. A decision is due to be made by 8 June.

From today a suspension on international flights in Pakistan has been lifted and airlines will be able to operate departing commercial flights from all airports other than Gwadar International Airport and Turbat International Airport. Arriving international flights, though, will only be allowed by special permission on a case by case basis for the time being.

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has issued new guidelines permitting certain categories of foreign nationals to travel to India. This includes for the purposes of business travel, as well as visitors employed in areas such as healthcare and engineering. Eligible arrivals who previously held a valid visa will either need to apply for a new one, or get it re-validated in the case long-term multiple entry business visas.

From today, South Africa will move down to level three on the five-level approach to lockdown restrictions originally announced by the country's president on 23 April. Internal flights are now permitted, although non-essential domestic travel including for recreational, leisure or tourism purposed is still prohibited. Other guidelines remain in place, including the use of PPE on public transport, a restriction on social gatherings and exercise being permitted only during certain hours.

The country's prime minister announced today that Spain needs 15 more days of lockdown until 21 June “to finish with the pandemic once and for all”, and is seeking an extension from parliament. From 21 June a national state of emergency will end and with it the lockdown, allowing citizens to move freely in their regions. From 1 July, citizens will be able to move throughout the country and overseas visitors are expected to be permitted entry.

For a start, the new scheme will apply only to business and official travel, for flights between Singapore and six provinces in China: Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The arrangement includes having COVID-19 prevent and control measures in place, and will be gradually expanded to the other Chinese provinces and municipalities.

The country's government said today that Greece will open to arrivals from 29 countries from 15 June, which coincides with the start of its peak tourism season. Passengers will be randomly tested, and the list will be updated before 1 July. The countries are: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Israel, Switzerland, Japan, Malta, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Australia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Hungary, South Korea, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Finland.

Hungary and Slovenia have today eased COVID-19 border restrictions to allow travel by their citizens between the two countries, including the purposes of business travel, their foreign ministers told a joint press conference at the border. From today, citizens can travel between the two countries without any limitation or quarantine.

The country's government has announced that it will allow citizens from 80 countries to enter and exit Vietnam using electronic visas from 1 July. Also released is a list of 37 border gates through which visitors will be able to enter and exit; this comprises of 8 international airports, 16 land ports and 13 seaports.

All arrivals to Ireland from overseas are now required to self-quarantine for 14 days on arrival, including Irish citizens. This includes passengers with no symptoms, even if they've tested negative for COVID-19 in another country.

Tourism officials announced today that the country will open its borders to international visitors starting on 1 July. To maintain the safety of residents and tourists alike, only islands that have contained the outbreak will be open to tourists. These include Cat Island, Long Island, Abaco and Andros, Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Cay, Ragged Island and Rum Cay.

Norway have said that it will allow entry to business travellers from all other Nordic countries from 1 June, in an announcement made by its government today. The new rules mean business travellers arriving from Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden will no longer be subject to a mandatory 10 day quarantine, which is currently the case for almost all arrivals from overseas.

Germany will lift a warning against travel to 26 fellow EU countries from 15 June, its foreign minister said today. A government source also said that the step would also include non-EU member states Britain, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. This now opens the way to separate pieces of advice on travel for given regions, and the German cabinet is expected to formally approve the relaxed guidelines for each of those countries next week.

The UK government has today confirmed plans to introduce a 14-day mandatory self-quarantine period for international arrivals to the UK via airports, ports and by rail. The new measures will take effect from 8 June 2020 and will also be applicable to British nationals returning from overseas.

Travellers will gradually be allowed to transit through Changi Airport from 2 June, as Singapore embarks on its phased exit from the circuit breaker period. Stringent measures will be in place to ensure transit passengers remain in designated facilities within the transit area and do not mix with other passengers at the airport. Existing precautionary measures, such as safe distancing, will also continue to be enforced.

The government of the United Arab Emirates has said today that it will welcome the return of valid residency visa holders from 1 June, who are currently overseas but have relatives inside the country. Since 19 March, the entry of residence visa holders who were outside of the UAE has been suspended over COVID-19 concerns.

Kuwait and Qatar both announced today that they will impose either large fines or imprisonment on anyone failing to wear a face mask in order to combat COVID-19. Kuwait’s health ministry said anyone caught could face up to three months in prison, while Qatar state TV reported the maximum penalty there would be three years; fines are to range anywhere from 16,000-55,000 US dollars.