While the symbolic milestone of 5 million deaths from Covid-19 must be crossed during the day, three countries have decided to reopen their borders: Australia to its vaccinated nationals, Thailand to tourists to citizens of 60 countries deemed safe and Israel to tourists and vaccinated pilgrims.
Read also Covid-19: update on the pandemic in the world
Australia
Australia reopened its borders on Monday almost 600 days after their closure, giving rise to moving reunion scenes at Sydney airport.
On March 20, 2020, the huge island continent implemented one of the strictest border closures in the world in order to protect itself from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tens of thousands of Australians living abroad were unable to reach their homeland for 19 months.
Thefts were rare and nationals allowed to return had to undergo an expensive 14-day quarantine at the hotel.
Read alsoCovid-19: because of the Delta variant, Australia is trying to speed up the rate of injections
The country's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne have decided to drop these measures and fully vaccinated Australians can now travel without quarantine.
"
It's a big day for Australia,
" Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, posting a message on Facebook saying the country was now "
ready to take off!"
".
More than a million foreign residents remain stranded in Australia, unable to return to see friends or families, with the easing measures mainly applying to Australian citizens.
Some Australian states where the vaccination rate remains low will remain virtually closed.
A mandatory 14-day quarantine will remain in effect.
Thailand
Tens of thousands of travelers are expected as of Monday in Bangkok and the island of Phuket, a hope of rebirth for the bloodless Thai tourism industry after a year and a half of lockdown.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the economy of the kingdom, which is heavily dependent on tourism and which recorded its worst results since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, with a drop of more than 80% of the arrivals last year.
Read alsoThailand will welcome forty times fewer tourists this year than in 2019
Thai authorities have given the green light to vaccinated tourists from more than 60 “
low risk
” countries who will now be able to stay in Thailand without quarantining.
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport and the Phuket International Terminal (south) will be the first to welcome visitors under this easing, before the rest of the country on the following days.
The kingdom still records around 10,000 cases of Covid per day and only around 40% of the population have received two doses of the vaccine.
In Bangkok, this rate is 80%.
Israel
This Monday, Israel also reopens its doors to tourists and foreign pilgrims who have been vaccinated.
Travelers from all countries will be able to come to the territory without needing a prior entry permit.
Three doses of vaccine, or two doses of vaccine, with a second injection received less than 6 months ago are required.
Read also Covid-19 rebound in Israel but not in Jordan: is vaccination called into question?
Travelers will still be required to present a PCR test of less than 72 hours and take a second one upon arrival.
Once the latter is negative - usually within 24 hours - the quarantine will be lifted.
As for children, who are not eligible for vaccination, they are quite simply prohibited from entering the country, even if their parents have the right to do so.
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"Only cooperation makes it possible to defeat the pandemic" of Covid-19, underlines Emmanuel Macron at the G20.
In addition, the White House announced on Monday, September 20 that the borders would be open again on November 8 for travelers fully vaccinated against Covid, from the European Union, the United Kingdom and China.
