
Sunbathers wanting to visit Rio de Janeiro's famous beaches, despite Brazil's raging COVID-19 epidemic, could soon be able to reserve socially-distant sand space through a mobile app, the city's mayor said on Monday.

The Falkland Islands government, FIG, up to July 6, had paid out £1,016,570 for Covid support measures from the total approved funding of £8.99m. The figure, from a paper presented to the Executive Council does not include the wool clip purchase scheme, which is expected to total around £2.9m.

Around 850 French passengers who were onboard a coronavirus-riddled cruise ship that was turned away from numerous ports in March have filed a collective suit in Paris with 180 complaints, including manslaughter, against Costa Cruises, their lawyer said on Sunday.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a range of obstacles to navigate in order for the 2020/21 tourism season to take place, however, the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, GSGSSI, is committed to meet the challenge and facilitate visits where possible, without compromising on our commitment to safe and environmentally sensitive tourism.

The Cruise Liners “Jewel of the Seas” and “Norwegian Epic” plan to carry out technical calls at Gibraltar on Monday, 10th August 2020, at around 08:00 hrs.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the leading voice of the global cruise industry, announced this week that its ocean-going cruise line members have agreed to voluntarily suspend U.S. cruise operations until at least 31 October 2020.

The Falkland Islands government, FIG, which continues to review connetivity, was informed by LATAM that the weekly air link with Chile, via the Punta Arenas-Santiago route will remain suspended until at least 7 November 2020, and the situation will be reviewed near that date.

The Falkland Islands Executive Council considered this week a paper relating to the current Quarantine and Visitor Policy and its implications for tourism, given the global situation of the industry, and international connectivity. Lawmaker Mark Pollard admitted that under current circumstances the next tourist season in the Falklands will not be able to rely on international visitors.

Latin America's biggest airline, the Brazilian-Chilean group LATAM, said it was laying off at least 2,700 crew to cope with the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation industry.

At least 40 passengers and crew from a luxury cruise liner have tested positive for COVID-19 and the authorities are still trying to trace a number of passengers from two recent Arctic voyages, public health officials in Norway said on Sunday.