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The United States has improved the travel advisory for India, lowering it from the highest Level 4, which means no travel, to Level 3, which urges citizens to reconsider travel.

The improvement of the travel advisories for India and Pakistan by the State Department on Monday comes in an acknowledgement of the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the region. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for India due to Covid-19, indicating a high level of Covid-19 in the country, the State Department said on Monday.

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PARIS – France took a big step Monday into a post-pandemic future by requiring people to show a QR code proving they have a special virus pass before they can enjoy restaurants and cafes or travel across the country.

The measure is part of a government plan to encourage more people to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot and slow down a surge in infections, as the highly contagious delta variant now accounts for most cases in France. Over 36 million people in France, or more than 54% of the population, are fully vaccinated.

The special pass is issued to people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have proof of a recent recovery from the virus, or who have a recent negative test. The measure also applies to tourists visiting the country.

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Tourists planning a trip to Himachal Pradesh must carry RT-PCR negative reports of a minimum of 72 hours, Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) report of 24 hours or Vaccination Certificate with both doses.

The decision was taken by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur during the State Cabinet meeting which took place on Tuesday.

The CM said that the state is witnessing a spurt in the cases and if the situation doesn’t improve, the government will be forced to impose restrictions once again.

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All those who have taken the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can now travel without worrying about their certificate’s validity. This was announced by Malta’s health authorities, who said that technical problems related to the COVID-19 Johnson & Johnson vaccine certificates have been resolved.

In a statement, the health authorities said that this technical fix was needed after it received numerous reports of verification problems in various EU countries. This update will automatically be implemented once the vaccine certificate is reprinted from the website certifikatvaccin.gov.mt, it was also said.

The health authorities are urging people who intend to use the vaccine certificate abroad to reprint it before travelling.

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A number of Midwest states have been added to Chicago's travel advisory, which recommends unvaccinated people entering the city from those areas test negative for COVID-19 or quarantine upon arrival.

Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa were among 12 states added to the advisory Tuesday.

The 12 new states included: Idaho, North Carolina, Washington, Oregon, California, New Mexico, Montana, Delaware, New York, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

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Every eight years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change publishes a report which analyzes the impacts of climate change and makes calculations for future outcomes for the earth. The latest report analyzed over 14,000 academic papers to get the most comprehensive picture on climate change.

It cannot be overstated: This report is the most important published in climate science. The 2013 report was the precursor to the Paris Climate Agreement. The 2021 report will be critical to future pledges.

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Now, several nations are expected to open up as the situation improves, as informed by the minister of state for external affairs, V Muraleedharan informed Parliament on Thursday.

Further, Muraleedharan said the external affairs ministry has been making efforts to easing travel restrictions for Indians enrolled in foreign universities, in the written replies to several questions in the Rajya Sabha on Indians studying abroad and the impact of the Covid-19-related restrictions on them.

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The U.K. government has announced that passengers arriving from amber list countries who have been fully vaccinated in the United States and Europe (EU Member States, European Free Trade Association countries and the European microstate countries of Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City) will not have to quarantine when entering England.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own rules and guidance on COVID-19 measures. This change currently applies to arrivals in England only.

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As the rampant delta variant of Covid threatens the post-pandemic travel and tourism rebound, there’s growing acceptance of so-called vaccine passports among a one-hesitant U.S. public and of increased calls for their mandated use across the industry.

A survey from travel website Upgraded Points of 1,000 people from June 2 to 3 found that 81.8% of U.S. respondents supported the idea of a vaccine passport — usually defined as a paper or digital document proving inoculation against Covid-19 — and 54.9% said airlines, hotel and other travel companies should require proof of vaccination from customers.

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The Delta variant of COVID-19 is rapidly spreading throughout the country, making case counts soar among mostly unvaccinated individuals. For those who'd wish to travel this summer but are concerned about the risks of COVID-19, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 map, which measures the spread of the virus throughout each county in the U.S. While many of the counties in America are reporting high levels of spread, there are a few destinations that are reporting only moderate to low transmission. Additionally, there are some international destinations currently at a Level 1 travel advisory that are safe for travel right now.

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SCTI has also extended the cover for costs or losses related to pregnancy from a gestation period of up to 20 weeks to up to 24 weeks.

When it comes to pregnancy cover, if a customer goes into early pre-term labour while travelling internationally, travel insurers often only pay the medical expenses for the mother and won’t necessarily cover the costs related to the birth itself or the ongoing care of the newborn.

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While domestic travel has already picked up in India, international travel is slowly making its way back too as vaccination numbers go up and countries lift their restrictions. Of course, you will still need to navigate requirements like RT-PCR tests, vaccine proofs, and even quarantine, all of which differ from country to country.

As of now, only a handful of countries are accessible to Indians for leisure travel. “Recently, there were media reports that Covishield is now recognised by several European countries for the EU travel ‘green pass’. However, this doesn’t mean that these countries are open for Indian leisure travellers. It just means that whenever they do open, the Covishield certificate will be accepted. These reports led to a lot of confusion amongst travellers”, says Loveleen Multani Arun, director of Panache World, a Bengaluru-based boutique travel company.

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The Uttarakhand government has further relaxed its travel restrictions in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing that fully vaccinated flyers can enter the state without getting the earlier-mandatory negative RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen test reports.“If passengers coming by air have got both the vaccine doses, then they will be allowed to come to the state without negative RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen test report,” Uttarakhand Minister Subodh Uniyal told news agency ANI on Monday.The new relaxation comes amid some more relaxations permitted by the state government after it extended the Covid-19 curfew till July 27.

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Vaccinated travelers to France from outside the European Union now have a way to obtain the digital health passes required to visit popular tourist sites, travel across the country by train, and even enjoy a coffee and croissant at an idyllic Paris cafe.

France on Monday began requiring use of a QR code-based digital health pass to visit restaurants, bars, and iconic sites including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. The passes are meant to prove a person has either been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested negative for the coronavirus in the previous 72 hours.

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Fresh lockdowns and restrictions in Asia brought on by the faster-spreading delta coronavirus variant are making the region’s pursuit of travel bubbles look like an increasingly fruitless endeavour.

Air-travel bubbles, corridors that allow movement between countries without the need for quarantine, have largely been a letdown as nations pull up the drawbridge again to contain outbreaks. A travel link between Singapore and Hong Kong, first mooted last year, has never actually gotten underway. Talks between Australia and Singapore are still ongoing while an arrangement between Australia and New Zealand has been stop-start at best and on Friday was halted for at least eight weeks.

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All American travelers arriving in Israel now have to enter quarantine for at least seven days, following the implementation of new regulations Wednesday following a spike in COVID cases locally.

The measure was approved by a Knesset panel last Wednesday and was initially set to go into effect two days later. However, it was delayed until August 11 following widespread public criticism.

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For much of the pandemic, travel between the U.S. and U.K. has been greatly restricted. But a major rollback in travel restrictions to England and Scotland announced Wednesday is about to make it much easier for fully vaccinated Americans to enter the two countries.

Starting Monday, August 2 at 4 a.m. British Standard Time travelers who are two weeks past their final shot of a vaccine approved by either the European Union or the U.S. are now exempt from the quarantine entry requirement for the two U.K. countries. The quarantine rules have been in place for visitors from “amber list” countries, which includes the U.S. Travelers will need to arrive with a negative PCR test, and take another on the second day of their stay, but will be free to move around upon arrival.