Borders opened up across Europe on Monday after three months of coronavirus closures that began so chaotically in March. But many restrictions persist, it's unclear how keen Europeans will be to travel this summer and the continent is still closed to Americans, Asians and other international tourists.
Border checks for most Europeans were dropped overnight in Germany, France and elsewhere, nearly two weeks after Italy opened its frontiers. The European Union's 27 nations, as well as those in the Schengen passport-free travel area, which also includes a few non-EU nations such as Switzerland, aren't expected to start opening to visitors from outside the continent until at least the beginning of next month, and possibly much later.
Announcing Monday's reopening of borders and Paris restaurants, French President Emmanuel Macron said it's time “to turn the page of the first act of the crisis” and “rediscover our taste for freedom.”
But he warned: "This doesn't mean the virus has disappeared and we can totally let down our guard. ... The summer of 2020 will be a summer unlike any other."
Even inside Europe, there is caution after more than 182,000 virus-linked deaths. Europe has had more than 2 million of the world’s 7.9 million confirmed infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
“We have got the pandemic under control, (but) the reopening of our frontiers is a critical moment," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Sunday as he announced that his hard-hit country is moving forward its opening to European travelers by 10 days to June 21. "The threat is still real. The virus is still out there.”
Still, the need to get Europe's tourism industry up and running again is also urgent for countries such as Spain and Greece as the economic fallout of the crisis multiplies. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged that “a lot will depend on whether people feel comfortable to travel and whether we can project Greece as a safe destination.”
In a trial run, Spain is allowing thousands of Germans to fly to its Balearic Islands starting Monday — waiving its 14-day quarantine for the group. The idea is to test out best practices in the coronavirus era.
“This pilot program will help us learn a lot for what lies ahead in the coming months,” Sánchez said. “We want our country, which is already known as a world-class tourist destination, to be recognized as also a secure destination.”
Europe’s reopening isn’t a repeat of the chaotic free-for-all in March, when panicked, uncoordinated border closures caused traffic jams that stretched for miles.
Still, it’s a complicated, shifting patchwork of different rules, and not everyone is equally free to travel everywhere. Several countries are not opening up yet to those hard hit in the crisis. Switzerland is still keeping its border with Italy closed, and Norway is doing the same with Sweden, whose virus strategy avoided a lockdown but produced a relatively high per capita death rate.
Britain, which left the EU in January but remains closely aligned with the bloc until the end of this year, only last week imposed a 14-day quarantine requirement for most arrivals, horrifying its tourism and aviation industries. As a result, France is asking people coming from Britain to self-quarantine for two weeks and several other nations are not even letting British tourists come in during the first wave of reopenings.
With flights only gradually picking up, nervousness about new outbreaks abroad, uncertainty about social distancing at tourist venues and many people facing record unemployment or pay cuts, many Europeans may choose simply to stay home or explore their own countries.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz are both planning to vacation in their homelands this year.
“The recommendation is still, if you want to be really safe, a vacation in Austria,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told ORF television, recalling the scramble in March to bring home thousands of tourists as borders slammed shut. “In Austria, you know that you don’t have to cross a border if you want to get home, and you know the infrastructure and the health system well.”
The German government, which helped fly 240,000 people home as the pandemic grew exponentially, also has no desire to repeat that experience.
“My appeal to all those who travel: Enjoy your summer vacation — but enjoy it with caution and responsibility,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. “In the summer holidays, we want to make it as difficult as possible for the virus to spread again in Europe.”
AP Newsroom
Mon Jun 15 2020
In this photo provided by the Prime Minister's Office, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces the opening of the tourist season during a news conference, on the Greek island of Santorini, Saturday, June 13, 2020 - Dimitris Papamitsos/Gree
Majoriti Ketua Bahagian UMNO sokong afidavit Ahmad Zahid - Ahmad Maslan
Majoriti daripada 191 Ketua Bahagian UMNO menyokong usaha Presidennya, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi memfailkan afidavit tambahan menyokong petisyen Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Tun Hanif selamat dikebumi di sebelah pusara anak
Jenazah Allahyarham Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar selamat dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara, jam 3.17 petang Sabtu.
JKM tunggu siasatan lengkap polis sebelum ambil tindakan lanjut
Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri bmengesahkan pihak JKM sudah menemui mangsa buli berusia lapan tahun dan kesemua yang terlibat untuk dirakam percakapan
Kerajaan komited noktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah - PM Anwar
Perdana Menteri percaya hubungan erat kerajaan Persekutuan dan kerajaan Sabah yanmampu memainkan peranan penting dalam merealisasi hasrat tersebut.
Pemergian Tun Hanif kerugian buat negara - Musa Hassan
Pemergian bekas Ketua Polis Negara (KPN) Tun Mohammad Hanif Omar adalah satu kerugian buat negara.
Bekas KPN kelapan Tan Sri Musa Hassan menyifatkan Allahyarham sebagai ketua yang tegas dan amat peduli dengan pegawai bawahan ketika bersama PDRM.
Bekas KPN kelapan Tan Sri Musa Hassan menyifatkan Allahyarham sebagai ketua yang tegas dan amat peduli dengan pegawai bawahan ketika bersama PDRM.
Kompaun RM1.4 juta kesalahan merokok sepanjang Mac
KKM mengeluarkan 5,549 kompaun dengan nilai tawaran berjumlah RM1.4 juta pada Mac.
Jenazah disemadikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara
Jenazah bekas Ketua Polis Negara, Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar akan disemadikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara.
Ahli keluarga, saudara mara dan kepimpinan tertinggi PDRM dilihat sudah berada di tanah perkuburan tersebut.
Perincian lanjut, bersama Ridauddin Daud yang berada di lokasi.
Ahli keluarga, saudara mara dan kepimpinan tertinggi PDRM dilihat sudah berada di tanah perkuburan tersebut.
Perincian lanjut, bersama Ridauddin Daud yang berada di lokasi.
Sultan Pahang zahir ucapan takziah kepada keluarga Tun Hanif Omar
Turut menzahirkan ucapan takziah ialah Tengku Ampuan Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
Kerajaan Madani komited noktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah - Anwar
Kerajaan Madani komited untuk menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah walaupun memahami situasi itu agak rumit untuk diselesaikan, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Kadar capaian internet di sekolah di Melaka memuaskan - Exco
Kerajaan Negeri Melaka akan terus mempertingkatkan kadar capaian internet di semua sekolah termasuk di kawasan luar bandar walaupun kini ia berada pada tahap memuaskan.
Charles bangga keberanian Kate dedah rawatan kanser
Charles sangat bangga dengan Kate dan telah terus berhubung rapat dengan menantu kesayangannya itu selama beberapa minggu kebelakangan ini.
Kate Middleton sahkan hidap kanser
Isteri pewaris takhta Putera William itu menyifatkan penemuan kanser itu sebagai "satu kejutan besar".
Raja Charles III terharu terima ribuan kad, titip ucapan dan doa
Istana Buckingham mengeluarkan gambar baginda yang kelihatan terhibur dan terharu membaca nota yang ditulis pada kad-kad ucapan.
Britain, Finland pula tangguh biaya UNRWA susulan dakwaan Israel
Britain dan Finland telah menyertai negara-negara lain dalam menangguhkan pembiayaan kepada UNRWA.
Britain dakwa serangan ke atas Houthi tiada kaitan konflik di Gaza - PM Rishi Sunak
Serangan itu adalah tindakan mempertahankan diri dan disasarkan dengan berhati-hati, kata Rishi Sunak.
Guna AI tentukan umur penonton kandungan lucah di bawah garis panduan baharu UK
Britain mencadangkan garis panduan baharu semakan umur bagi melindungi kanak-kanak daripada mengakses pornografi dalam talian.
China nafi intip Parlimen Britain, gesa henti sebar maklumat palsu
China menafikan dakwaan Britain mengenai kemungkinan kes pengintipan di Parlimen London, lapor Agensi Berita Jerman ( dpa ).
Kelewatan perjalanan udara UK mungkin berterusan beberapa hari
Gangguan sistem kawalan udara United Kingdom (UK) memaksa ribuan penumpang syarikat penerbangan terkandas pada Isnin, dengan potensi gangguan berlanjutan.
Britain: Rishi Sunak umum hukum penjara seumur hidup bagi pembunuh kejam
Pesalah berbahaya yang melakukan pembunuhan paling kejam akan berdepan dengan hukuman penjara seumur hidup tanpa peluang dibebaskan.
COVID-19: Varian baharu dengan 'jumlah mutasi tinggi' ditemui di Britain
Varian COVID-19 baharu dengan "bilangan mutasi yang tinggi" telah dikesan di Britain.