People queue near an information board promoting free COVID-19 tests for travelers arriving at Berlin-Schoenefeld airport in Schoenefeld, south of Berlin, on July 31, 2020. (TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP)
HONG KONG – The European Union has lifted travel restrictions for Hong Kong and Macao in the latest step toward restoring airline routes suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The US, Albania, Lebanon, North Macedonia and Serbia were also added to a so-called “white list” of countries and regions from which non-essential travel is allowed.
The new rules will take effect within days, as soon as they are published in the Official Journal of the EU.
Member states will also have leeway to grant entry to unvaccinated visitors from white-listed places without requiring a quarantine.
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With Bloomberg inputs