Travel restrictions ease across Mediterranean, western Europe, parts of Asia in a bid to kick-start economy

Coronavirus induced lockdown restrictions were eased on June 1 across the globe, especially in Asia and Europe, as demand for travel and tourism started to pick up.

The Colosseum opened its doors in Rome, golfers played in Greece, students returned in Britain and Dutch bars and restaurants were free to welcome patrons again, news agency AP reported yesterday.

Countries around the Mediterranean Sea began tentatively to kick-off a summer season in which tourists could bask in their famously sunny beaches while still being protected by social distancing measures.

“We are reopening, as a symbol. A symbol of Rome, a symbol for Italy,” said Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum’s archaeological park.

Greece lifted lockdown measures on Monday for hotels, campsites, open-air cinemas, golf courses and public swimming pools, while beaches and museums reopened in Turkey and bars, restaurants, cinemas and museums came back to life in the Netherlands.

A long line of masked visitors snaked outside the Vatican Museums, which include the Sistine Chapel, as they reopened for the first time in three months, AP reported.

Italy is eager to reboot its tourism industry, which accounts for 13% of its economy.

The Vatican Museums’ famous keyholder – the “clavigero” who holds the keys to all the galleries on a big ring on his wrist – opened the gate in a sign both symbolic and literal that the Museums were back in business.

Still, strict crowd control measures were in place at both the Vatican and the Colosseum: visitors needed reservations to visit the landmarks, their temperatures were taken before entering and wearing a mask was mandatory.

The Dutch relaxation of coronavirus rules took place on a major public holiday with the sun blazing, raising immediate fears of overcrowding in popular beach resorts like Scheveningen, near The Hague.

The new rules let bars and restaurants serve up to 30 people inside if they keep social distancing, but there’s no standing at bars and reservations are necessary, AP’s report said.

Britain, which with over 38,500 dead has the world’s second-worst death toll behind the United States, eased restrictions despite warnings from health officials that the risk of spreading COVID-19 was still too great.

Some elementary classes reopened in England and people could now have limited contact with family and friends, but only outdoors and with social distancing.

In Asia, Bangladesh restarted bus, train, ferry and flight services Monday, hoping that a gradual reopening revives an economy in which millions have become jobless.

According to the AP report, traffic jams and crowds of commuters clogged Manila, as the Philippines capital embraced a high-stakes gamble to kickstart the economy.