Israel reopens its borders to vaccinated international travellers for the first time since March 2020, where they must have received two doses of any WHO-approved vaccine, a booster dose within the past six months, or only one dose if they have recovered from COVID-19. (La Prensa Latina)
Japan lifts its 10,000 spectator attendance limit for large-scale events in 27 prefectures and allow events across the country to have 5,000 spectators or 50% venue capacity in order to restore social and economic activities amid decline of COVID-19 cases. (Kyodo News)
South Korea begins to implement a "Living with COVID-19" campaign with easing of movement restrictions and lifting operating hour restrictions for businesses as well as requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from the previous 48 hours in order to enter high-risk venues. This comes as 75% of the South Korean population has been fully vaccinated. (CNA)
Thailand reopens its international borders for the first time in 18 months to fully vaccinated travellers from 60 countries, where they are allowed to enter the country without quarantining, despite only 42% of the country's population being fully vaccinated. (BBC News)
Greece reports a record 5,449 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 747,595. (Greek Reporter)
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv begins to require vaccine certificates or negative test results in order to enter restaurants, cafés, gyms, entertainment facilities and shopping malls as well as to use public transportation in an attempt to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. (Reuters)
Australia completely reopens its international borders to fully vaccinated citizens who are currently overseas. In the past, returning citizens were staggered through arrival caps and were required to pay for two weeks of quarantine. This will also allow fully-vaccinated Australians to leave and return to the country without an exemption. (The Guardian)
Australia fully reopens its maritime border with New Zealand for fully vaccinated travelers, who will be able to visit Australia without needing an exemption or quarantine. (The Guardian)
The U.S. surpasses 46 million cases of COVID-19. (KIRO-TV)
The worldwide death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surpasses five million. The actual death toll is suspected to be higher as some countries may not have reported all deaths. (Al Jazeera)
A man is sentenced to death in Iraq for shooting two journalists dead while driving home in Basra in January. The court said that the man committed the murders "with the aim of destabilising security and stability and intimidating people for terrorist purposes". (Al Jazeera)