Germany, France and Spain to Reopen Borders on June 15

Germany plans to lift a travel ban for European Union member states plus Britain, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland from 15 June provided coronavirus infection levels in those countries allow it to do so, government sources said.

A further condition is that the countries concerned open their borders to holidaymakers, the sources said.

On lifting the ban, introduced for travel worldwide in mid-March, Germany would instead issue country-specific guidelines on the coronavirus situation in the European countries concerned./Reuters

Italy officially ended its long coronavirus lockdown Wednesday, opening regional and international borders in a bid to boost summer tourism, but found itself alone as European neighbors viewed the move as premature and remained wary of visitors from Italy.

Italy's long-awaited internal and external opening after nearly three months allowed residents to finally reunite with friends and family members, and brought a flood of French shoppers across the border for less expensive groceries and cigarettes. But normalcy was a long way off.

Giuseppina Niglio drove 8 1/2 hours from Salerno, south of Naples, to the border with Switzerland to see her children, Roberta di Giacomo, 24, and Alessandro di Giacomo, 21. The siblings study at the musical conservatory in Lugano, Switzerland. They crossed into Italy on foot with their luggage, her cello and his violin.

''I can say that the drive we did from 4 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. just flew by,″ Niglio said. ''We had a lot of adrenaline. We couldn't wait to see them and hug them again.″

Italy is the first European country to fully open its international borders, dropping the 14-day quarantine requirement for visitors from most of Europe. Many European...