The World Slowly begins to Emerge

​This week is a big week as we, as a world, start to open back up and move forward.  There is a lot of information about each country, state, and city and how each tries to come back.  As each destination opens, the world watches to see how they fair, was there a spike in cases, did they shut down again and do they think they are moving at the right speed.  I have found several country reopenings that I want to share with you. 

Italy is one of my favorite destinations, and this past Monday, the country began to open shops, bars, and restaurants. The residents can now travel withing their regions to visit family and friends.  On June 3rd, Italy will lift the travel ban and will allow everyone to travel between regions and will open up its border to other European countries within the Schengen area.  Some of these countries are bordering Italy, such as France, Switzerland, and Austria.  Any visitor traveling from this area will not be subject to the fourteen-day quarantine when arriving in Italy.  

In Ireland, the reopening begins on June 8th and will be a slow opening. Places like gardens, golf courses, and outdoor tourist attractions and walks will reopen first, then shops and boutiques.  Then at the end of June, restaurants, and cafes will open. Followed by hotels, museums, indoor attractions, and galleries will open on July 20th.  The last stage of Ireland’s reemerging will be for pubs, bars, malls, and the remote islands that will open around August 20th.  

For France, the lockdown ended on May 11th, which gave the French a little more freedom depending on where they reside. They have deconfinement zones, which indicate which areas still have the virus actively spreading.  If you are in the red zone, there are still restrictions. The most significant step is the French will no longer have to show a derogatory trip certificate proving why they are going past 100 km past their home.

In the United Kingdom, the reopening began with the first phase that started on May 11th allowed workers in construction and manufacturing and “encouraged” them to return to work.  All of the residents can now get outside and have unlimited exercise instead of the one hour a day that was previously in place.  The next phase reopening will begin on June 1st, which will look at opening schools, then in July, they will assess opening shops, restaurants, and bars.  Strick lockdown measures will still be in place in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  The UK is also looking at implementing a mandatory 14 quarantine for any traveler entering the country.  
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If there is a specific country you would like to know about, please call or email me, and I can research the details for you.  

In ending, I wanted to leave you with an article from Conde Nast Traveler showing many of the empty top tourist destinations from around the world during Covid-19.  While I was in France last December, some friends and I talked about over-tourism and how some places were getting so overrun by tourists, and now each of these destinations has had a break and can breathe new life into the special places we all want to preserve.