Many countries open their doors to tourists.

China announced on August 4 that Brunei has resumed direct round-trip flights between Brunei's Bandar Seri Begawan and mainland China's Hangzhou, operated by Royal Brunei Airlines (RB). This is the first direct flight to mainland China since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted air traffic between the two countries. Passengers arriving in Bandar Seri Begawan or Hangzhou will be quarantined for 14 days. The information was released after Brunei announced no new Covid-19 cases on August 4, marking the 89th consecutive day without new cases in the Southeast Asian country.

Meanwhile, international tourists have begun to return to Indonesia's North Sulawesi province - a famous tourist destination with popular diving spots. In June 2020, the province welcomed more than 267 foreign visitors, down 96.8% compared to June last year. Since the beginning of the year, North Sulawesi has welcomed about 14,000 million visitors, compared to the 60,000 visitors recorded in the same period last year.

In Latin America, Ecuador and Honduras announced plans to reopen to tourists. Honduras announced on August 4 that it would resume domestic and international flights from mid-August after nearly five months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ecuador's Ministry of Tourism announced on August 4 that the country would reopen 40 beaches, asking people to cooperate in implementing epidemic prevention measures, while travel companies ensure compliance with epidemic prevention health regulations during the resumption of operations.

Meanwhile, Honduras has opened its doors to tourists in many localities to reactivate the economy, although there are still 35 localities that are hot spots of the epidemic and people in these localities are only allowed to leave their homes to go to banks, pharmacies and supermarkets. At the same time, Honduras still applies a night curfew, public transport is still suspended, many entertainment businesses such as bars, restaurants, cinemas, schools are still closed... Honduras and Ecuador are two Latin American countries heavily affected by the Covid-19 epidemic with the total number of infections in both countries to date being more than 131,000 cases, including more than 7,100 deaths.

In the Middle East, Palestine decided on August 4 to end the blockade in the West Bank, but extended the state of emergency for another 30 days, replacing the emergency decree that expired on the same day. According to the new decree signed by President Mahmoud Abbas, cafes, restaurants, and gyms will be allowed to open but limited to 50% capacity. However, gatherings and events with large crowds are still banned. Information on worldometers.info said that so far, Palestine has had a total of 13,065 infections and 89 deaths.

Rosemary