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Austria lifts travel restrictions for Italy from mid-June
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Young women enjoy their picnic in a garden of Schoenbrunn palace, the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, on a cloudy late evening in Vienna, Austria on June 09, 2020.
(AFP/Joe Klamar)
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ustria announced Wednesday it would reopen its border with Italy from June 16 and allow free travel from most other European nations from that date as the country eases coronavirus restrictions.
Last week Austria had already relaxed restrictions for travel to some neighboring states but had excluded Italy, one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.
"Yes, we are opening the border. Yes, travelling to Italy, to Greece, to Croatia for example will be possible," Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told a press conference on Wednesday.
From June 16, Austria will welcome travelers from 31 countries without restrictions, including most of Europe.
Notable exceptions are Sweden, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, Schallenberg said.
Travelers from those countries will still have to show a negative coronavirus test or undergo a two-week home quarantine.
Sweden is on the list due to steeply rising infection numbers in recent days, Health Minister Rudolf Anschober explained.
"It's surprising and quite sad because I would have liked the congenial way (Sweden) has handled the crisis to have met with success, but sadly that's not the case," he said.
Portugal had also recorded a clear uptick in recent new infections while the UK was the third worst European country in terms of new infections per capita, Anschober added.
Read also: Austria plans heavy virus testing of hotel staff to reassure tourists
'Common sense'
As for Spain, Schallenberg said that the Spanish government had itself closed its borders until the end of June and that travel there should restart at the beginning of July.
A travel warning will stay in place for Lombardy in northern Italy, which emerged as a coronavirus hotspot during the pandemic, Schallenberg said, explaining that the government was urging Austrians to avoid travelling there.
However, this could be reviewed in the coming weeks if infections continued to trend downwards.
Schallenberg warned people to remain vigilant when travelling, noting that the pandemic had not yet been beaten.
"If you're packing your suitcase, please don't forget to take your common sense too," he said.
Italy reopened to travelers from within Europe on June 3, three months after going into coronavirus lockdown, but sparse arrivals have dimmed hopes of reviving the key tourism industry as the summer season begins.
Among Italy's other neighbors, Switzerland said Friday it would accelerate plans to open its borders, allowing people travelling from all European Union countries and Britain to enter from June 15.
Austria was among the first in the EU to announce March 10 that it was closing its borders with Italy to fight the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic.
Austria has been spared the brunt of the health crisis with some 16,900 coronavirus cases and fewer than 700 deaths so far among its population of nearly nine million.
