As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout gains momentum, many countries are planning a gradual return to normal, opening borders and letting people back into restaurants, shops and sports venues after more than a year of on-off lockdowns.
Here are some of their plans, in alphabetical order:
BRITAIN
Britain expects to fully reopen pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and other hospitality venues on July 19.
Non-essential retailers in England reopened on April 12 along with pubs and restaurants operating outdoors. Indoor hospitality, cinemas, theaters and sports halls reopened on May 17 with capacity restrictions. Britain also resumed international travel, with quarantine rules still in place for most arrivals.
COLOMBIA
Colombia on June 3 approved reopening most large events like concerts and sports matches with 25% capacity for cities where intensive care units occupancy rates are below 85%.
From July 15, international travelers no longer need to present a negative PCR test and in-person classes will resume for pre-school children to university students.
FRANCE
France will end a national night-time curfew on June 20, 10 days earlier than initially scheduled, while face masks will soon no longer be required outdoors.
Nightclubs are expected to reopen in July.
On June 9, the country fully reopened its cafes, bars, and restaurants. Sports halls, spas, swimming pools, and casinos also resumed operation.
Shops, museums, cinemas and theaters reopened on May 19. Foreign tourists with a “health pass” are able to visit from June 9.
GERMANY
Germany eased restrictions on those fully vaccinated or recovered from the virus from May 9, lifting curfews and quarantine rules as well as the obligation to provide a negative test result to visit a hairdresser, a zoo or to go shopping.
From May 12, travelers have been able to enter the country without the need to quarantine, except those arriving from risk areas.
General travel warning for risk regions that have a seven-day coronavirus incidence of below 200 will be lifted starting July 1.
Germany is on target for outdoor concerts this summer, with social distancing and COVID-19 testing for attendees, and fans should be back at soccer matches in August.
A rule which forces companies to allow working from home will be lifted on June 30.
INDIA
On June 14, all New Delhi’s shops and malls re-opened although bars, gyms, salons, cinemas and parks remain shut.
Federally protected monuments opened to tourists on June 16.
Some businesses in Tamil Nadu were allowed to bring back 50% of employees and salons and liquor shops reopened. Bus services remain suspended until June 21.
In Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka state, authorities allowed the partial reopening of businesses, though strict night and weekend curfews remained in place.
From June 7, the state of Maharashtra allowed malls, movie theaters, restaurants and offices to open regularly in districts where the positivity rate has fallen below 5%.
The Gujarat government has eased restrictions on commercial activities, allowing shops in 36 cities to remain open longer.
In Odisha state, lockdowns have been eased in three districts while the southern state of Tamil Nadu now allows grocery retailers to open for most of the day and offices to operate with 30% capacity.
ISRAEL
Israel reopened borders to tourists on May 23. Under a pilot program, it gave the green light to visits by 20 groups of between five and 30 tourists from countries including the United States, Britain and Germany. It hopes to let individual tourists in from July.
From June 15, citizens may stop wearing masks indoors, except for unvaccinated patients or staff in medical facilities, people en route to quarantine, and passengers on commercial flights.
ITALY
Italian coffee bars, restaurants, cinemas and theaters partially reopened in most regions on April 26. Indoor service at restaurants resumed from June 1.
Italy lifted quarantine restrictions for travelers arriving from European and Schengen countries, as well as Britain and Israel, from May 15.
A curfew was pushed back by an hour to midnight on June 7, and will be abolished from June 21.
JAPAN
Japan will ease curbs in nine prefectures including Tokyo from June 20, ahead of the Summer Olympics due to start in late July. Bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve alcohol until 7 p.m., but restaurants are still asked to shut by 8 p.m. Certain measures such as spectator limits at major events will remain in place.
POLAND
During the month of May, Poland reopened shopping centers, hotels, restaurants cinemas, theaters, concert halls and cultural institutions. Indoor dining, indoor sports facilities and swimming pools reopened on May 28.
Large indoor events with up to 50 people were allowed from May 28, a number that tripled on June 6 as the country eased restrictions further.
From June 13, churches can be filled up to 50% of capacity. Limits for concerts and sports events will be raised from June 26 to 50% of seats, while hotels can be filled to up to 75% capacity.
People who have been vaccinated are not counted in the capacity limits.
All students returned to school on May 31.
QATAR
From May 28, Qatar allowed leisure, education centers, restaurants, gyms, pools and salons to operate at limited capacity, but bans on weddings, conferences and exhibitions remain in place.
Local and international sporting events can take place with fully vaccinated fans in open-space venues at 30% capacity.
SAUDI ARABIA
On May 17, Saudi Arabia opened land, sea and air borders. From May 20, foreign visitors arriving by air from most countries no longer need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated.
It lifted a ban on travelers from 11 countries including the United States, Britain, France and Japan, on May 30.
Entertainment venues were allowed to open at 40% capacity for those vaccinated from May 27.
SOUTH KOREA
From June 14, South Korea allows up to 4,000 people to attend concerts and other cultural shows. Sports stadiums can operate at 30% to 50% capacity, depending on the districts.
From July 1, fully vaccinated overseas visitors can apply for exemptions from mandatory two-week quarantine if they are visiting family or traveling for the purpose of business, academics or public interest.
Masks will no longer be required outdoors from July.
SPAIN
Curfews were lifted across most of Spain on May 9.
From May 24, it allows travel from low-risk non-EU countries without a negative PCR test. From June 7, vaccinated people from anywhere in the world can enter.
THAILAND
Thailand aims to fully reopen to visitors within 120 days, with some tourism centers set to resume even earlier, starting with a pilot reopening from July 1 on its most popular island, Phuket.
UNITED STATES
On May 3, New York City allowed drinking at an indoor bar for the first time in months, days after Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city should reopen in full on July 1.
On June 15, the state of New York lifted all state-mandated coronavirus restrictions, including capacity limits of 50% for retailers, 33% for gyms and the lesser of 33% or 100 people for movie theaters. Mitigation measures are still required in public transit and healthcare settings.
New York joined California, where most remaining crowd-capacity limits and physical distancing requirements were also lifted on June 15
New York City and Los Angeles announced plans to fully reopen schools from September.
Chicago and Illinois fully reopened on June 11.
The states of New Jersey and Connecticut lifted most capacity restrictions on businesses, including retail stores, food services and gyms, on May 19.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on May 3 signed an executive order to end all local emergency measures.
The U.S. Open tennis tournament will allow 100% fan capacity in 2021, the Associated Press reported on June 17.
