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China's government announced on 30 July that restrictions are now to be imposed on people coming in and out of Urumqi, the capital of China’s western Xinjiang region, in an effort contain a localised COVID-19 outbreak. Among other measures, Urumqi will mandate a 14-day quarantine for people arriving in the city from high-risk COVID-19 areas; others entering the city will need to show proof of a negative test within the past seven days.

The European Union (EU) is set to exclude Algeria from its 'safe list' of countries from which it recommends the allowance of non-essential travel. The deadline for the decision is reportedly today, 30 July; the other remaining 'safe' countries deemed by the EU to have COVID-19 largely under control are Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Tunisia and Uruguay. China was also provisionally approved pending reciprocity.

The UK rail operator LNER, who operate long-distance inter-city services from London King's Cross to north east England and Scotland, is set to begin trials of a new onboard catering service; featuring mobile ordering, the service will facilitate the delivery of food and drink directly to passengers’ seats. The digital in-seat app ‘Let’s Eat – At Your Seat’ will be available to customers in both Standard and First Class.

The country has announced that it is re-opening its borders to visitors from select countries on 5 August; emerging from one of the strictest lockdowns in the Middle East, Jordan's borders and international airports have been closed since March. Similar to other destinations, the country is using a traffic light system of green, yellow and red to indicate which visitors will be able to enter the country without having to quarantine.

The government of Kenya has announced that from 1 August 1, international passengers must have proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken a maximum of 96 hours before boarding their flight; arriving passengers will be also exempt from a 14-day quarantine requirement if they are not displaying symptoms. Among those permitted to enter the country from 1 August when international flights resume are citizens of China, Uganda, Rwanda, South Korea, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Namibia, Japan and Canada.

Reports today, 30 July, suggest that the government of Poland is considering an arrival quarantine for arrivals from select EU and non-EU countries based on COVID-19 risk level; Spain and France have thus far been cited as candidates, and the measures are still being discussed.

As per previously announced government plans, mandatory temperature screening has begun to be implemented in phases at Canada’s 15 busiest airports; this will start on 30 July at Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto-Pearson and Montreal-Trudeau. On or before 30 September, temperature screening operations will commence at the next 11 busiest airports - St. John’s, Halifax, Québec City, Ottawa, Toronto-Billy Bishop, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Kelowna and Victoria.

The government of South Africa has announced that it will shortly ease COVID-19 restrictions to allow citizens to travel for the purposes of tourism within their own province. Accommodation providers will be permitted to operate with limits of two people, or one family, per room; short-term rental providers such as Airbnb however will remain suspended. Guided tours in open safari vehicles will now be permitted, but must include provision for both social distancing and maximum ventilation. The changes will come into effect as soon as the new regulations are gazetted by the country's government.

The country re-opened international air travel to foreign tourists yesterday, 29 July, despite reporting record numbers of new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Tourists from all countries may travel to Brazil as long as they have health insurance for the duration of their trip, the government have said in a decree.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has announced that, in line with the American Hotel & Lodging Association's guest checklist, from 10 August guests in all locations in the United States and Canada will be required to wear face masks in all indoor public spaces; the company will inform guests of the new policy ahead of their arrival, and there also will be signage at each hotel. Similar announcements have recently been made by brands including Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and InterContinental Hotels Group.

The government of the the Dominican Republic have mandated that all passengers arriving from 30 July must have proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken a maximum of five days before boarding their flight; those who don't have proof of an eligible result will be tested on arrival at the airport. Individuals who test positive will be required to quarantine as instructed by authorities, and travellers must fill out a health declaration.

The government of the Australian state of Queensland have announced from from 01.00 (local time) on 1 August, the Greater Sydney area will be added to its list of COVID-19 'hotspots'. The decision will add 31 new local government areas to the list; arrivals to Queensland who have been in any designated hotspots within the previous 14 days are not permitted to enter, except in a small number of exempting circumstances.

Virgin Atlantic have announced further route resumptions in August, after successfully re-starting flights to destinations including Hong Kong, New York JFK and Los Angeles in the second half of July. From 1 August services will resume to Barbados; this is followed by flights to Shanghai returning on 4 August. Finally, Virgin's Miami route will be operational from 18 August.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that from 1 August they will resume six weekly flights to Clark in the Philippines. This will boost the airline’s global network to 68 destinations in August across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.

The local government of the U.S. state of Alaska have announced that from 11 August, visitors must present the negative results of a COVID-19 test taken prior to arrival, within 72 hours of entering the state. The policy will supersede current entry requirements, which thus far has offered options for pre-trip testing or a combination of quarantine time and testing upon arrival in the state.

The local government of the popular Portuguese island of Madeira have announced that from 1 August, it will be mandatory for face masks to be worn at all times while in public; Madeira will be the first region in the country to adopt the measures against COVID-19.

The country’s government has announced that its borders will be closed to most commercial travelers until at least 31 October; the original border re-opening for all travelers had been set for 30 July. Currently there are no active or suspected cases of COVID-19 on the island, however the decision has been taken due to what the country calls a rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation globally - particularly the significant increase in cases in the Americas.

The UK government has today, 28 July, added a small number of countries to its travel corridor list, meaning that visitors or returning UK citizens travelling from those destinations will no longer be required to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival; the new additions are Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Meanwhile, Spain was removed from the list on 26 July.

The country's government announced today, 28 July, that it will make mask-wearing compulsory at more indoor public spaces to contain the spread of COVID-19. The new measures come into effect from 29 July and will require masks to be worn by everyone inside retail shops, offices, banks, food stores and bakeries. Masks are already required on public transport and in supermarkets.

After previously re-opening to tourism on 15 July, Puerto Rico has taken an about-turn and is now discouraging non-essential travel due to increases in COVID-19 cases. A new tourism re-opening date of 15 August has now been set and many businesses have now been closed until at least 31 July.