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Italy: COVID-19 Vaccines Recognised for Travel

Similar to other countries, Italy has also opened its borders for travellers all over the world who hold a COVID-19 Green Certificate. Italy currently has its own COVID-19 Green Certificate, which is an extension of the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate. Such a document is used to prove whether the holder has been fully vaccinated, has recovered from the COVID-19 disease or has recently taken a negative test result. A vaccination certificate has proven to be the most common and convenient form since it remains valid for up to one year. However, not all countries recognise the same vaccines as valid proof of immunity. According to a press release issued by the Italian Ministry of Health, it has been announced that the country accepts proof of vaccination only if the administered jab has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. “The certification of successful completion of the vaccination cycle must relate to one of the four vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency,” the Ministry stated. Earlier this month, the chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), Soumya Swaminathan, announced that except for recognising the vaccines approved by EMA, 15 European countries have also decided to recognise the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India as valid proof of immunity. Nonetheless, Italy is not part of this group of countries, despite the fact that the Covishield vaccine has been listed for emergency use by WHO back in February.

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Philippines extends travel ban on India, 9 other nations due to Delta variant

The Philippine government on Friday extended travel restrictions for people coming from India and nine other countries till August 15 in order to monitor the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) amid a spike in daily infections. The nine countries include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The Philippines had earlier imposed the travel ban on India on April 29 which was extended. On July 14, the government further extended the travel ban on India along with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the UAE, and Oman till July 31, according to news agency PTI. The Philippines has so far reported 216 cases of the Delta variant, which was first discovered in India in October 2020. However, experts pointed out there might be more unidentified cases due to the sluggish pace of the country’s genome sequencing capacity, PTI reported. Two weeks back, the country reported its first locally transmitted cases of the variant.

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Kerala Accelerates Covid-19 vax Drive for Tourism Hubs

Kerala has accelerated its total Covid-19 vaccination campaign to turn all tourism destinations completely risk-free for visitors, with Vythiri in upland Wayanad district becoming the first-holiday hub to cover the entire population including tourism sector stakeholders under the initiative. Rolled out on mission mode to keep the whole of Kerala ready to receive visitors when the pandemic recedes, the inoculation drive has picked up momentum in all destinations including hill stations, backwater hubs, sea-side holiday spots and heritage and cultural tourism centres in the length and breadth of the state. Kerala Tourism Minister Shri P A Mohamed Riyas had earlier this month announced the initiative. A verdant eco-tourism hotspot located 700 metres above sea level and 60 km from Kozhikode, Vythiri had its entire population, including all tourism service providers, vaccinated during an intensive inoculation drive held from July 13-17. Wayanad, sharing borders with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is a major tourist haven in South India, known for its stunning scenic appeal and congenial ambience. “In the post-pandemic phase, visitors will be looking for safe and hospitable places to spend time. The Government considers it as vitally important to administer Covid-19 vaccine to the entire stakeholders in all the destinations across the state”, said Riyas. “Blessed with unsurpassed natural beauty, Wayanad has immense tourism potential. We have major plans to develop the area as a hub for a rich mix of holiday and leisure activities including adventure tourism,” the Minister added. “The vaccination campaign is picking up well as it is being conducted on a mission mode. Along with the Tourism Department, the industry bodies and employee forums and local communities are actively involved for its success”, said Dr V Venu IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Government of Kerala. “This initiative will certainly position Kerala as a risk-free place to visit in the post-pandemic phase. Enhancing the visitor confidence in places they choose to travel will be a key factor in the future”, said V R Krishna Teja IAS, Director Tourism. The campaign is being rolled out to the entire service providers connected with the travel and hospitality industry including employees of hotels, resorts and home-stays, tour guides, taxi and auto rickshaw drivers and traders in tourism centres. Major centres to be covered by the initiative include Alappuzha, Munnar, Fort Kochi, Kovalam, Kumarakom, and Varkala, lying in the length and breadth of the state. In tourism segment alone, 5395 people were administered the first dose of the vaccine during the campaign organized by the Tourism Department in Vythiri with the support of the Health Department, district administration and the industry bodies. The inoculation drive in Vythiri was conducted by the doctors and paramedical staff of Vythiri Taluq Headquarters Hospital and Sugandhagiri Primary Health Centre.

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Indian Railways' Passenger Occupancy Touches 80% After Drop in COVID-19 Cases

The coronavirus cases across India have dropped and as a result, the lockdown regulations have also been eased. This has led to more people booking train tickets for their commute. The Indian Railways has also increased its capacity utilisation keeping in view the current situation. This has brought relief to many travellers as the majority of the trains have started running on important routes. The Ministry of Railways informed a media outlet that occupancy of passengers has increased to around 80% from March. According to a report published in Money Control, The Indian Railways is running approximately 1,490 mail and express trains and 947 passenger trains. The booking of tickets through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp Ltd (IRCTC) has also touched 800,000 daily after dropping down to nearly 500,000 tickets per day in May. The ministry also revealed that approximately 90 per cent of its tickets are booked through the IRCTC portal. As per an official associated with the department, the issues surrounding the functioning of trains have already been discussed with the state government. They have also mentioned the trains have restarted entirely on the basis of demand by people. In order to ensure safety, the Indian Railways does random tests and checks in containment zones. The official also added that demand for trains is likely to increase during the festival season. Furthermore, the railways are also discussing the possibility of restarting local train services across India. If the official is to be believed then the local suburban train service from Delhi to various cities including Palwal, Mahendragarh, Sonipat, Gurugram etc will restart from next month.

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Uttarakhand COVID update: Char Dham Yatra banned till August 18

The Nainital High Court had banned the Char Dham Yatra till August 18 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation. The court came down strongly on the Uttarakhand state government for not checking COVID-related protocols at tourist spots in the state. As reported earlier, the Uttarakhand state government had to issue a new guideline by updating and issuing the Standard Operating Procedure. As per the reports, the Uttarakhand High Court had earlier put a stay on the state government's decision to allow the Char Dham Yatra from July 1, following which the state government challenged the court's decision in the Supreme Court and filed a plea in the Apex Court. The Char Dham Yatra attracts tons of pilgrims and tourists from across the country every year, However, this year due to the COVID-19 situation, the state government had earlier only allowed Chardham Yatra for residents of the three districts, which included Rudraprayag, Chamoli, and Uttarkashi, which also had to be rolled back soon after it was announced. Till Monday, Uttarakhand had reported 341778 COVID-19 cases, out of which, reportedly, 327766 people have recovered so far. In other news, Uttarakhand Cabinet has approved re-opening of schools from August 1 for students from class 6 to 12, in the wake of decreasing number of Coronavirus cases in the state.

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Air India announces new flights to Maldives, Malaysia

Air India has announced new additional flights connecting Indian cities with two popular destinations, Maldives and Malaysia, as the countries eased travel restrictions with India. As part of the Vande Bharat mission, Air India will operate flights from Delhi to Malé via Mumbai every Wednesday and Saturday, starting from July 28. The airline will also fly from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to Malé every Monday and Thursday, starting from July 29. The Maldives reopened its borders for travellers from south Asian countries such as India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, from July 15, 2021. Meanwhile, Air India Express, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, has announced flights between India and Kuala Lumpur from August. The airline will connect Trichy, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Chennai with Kuala Lumpur. Bookings for these flights are open in Air India’s website and call centres. Ticket prices: Flights between Mumbai and Malé start at ?16,953 for the economy and ?53,334 for business class, while flights between Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur start at ?23,243 for August. Recently, Air India had also announced several international flights to Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Commercial international flights in India, however, are still banned till August 31.

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