Netherlands bans arrivals from Serbia and Montenegro again

The Netherlands shut its borders to people from Serbia and Montenegro again on Wednesday, a week after opening them, citing a rapid rise in coronavirus infections in both countries.

The Netherlands shut its borders to people from Serbia and Montenegro again on Wednesday, a week after opening them, citing a rapid rise in coronavirus infections in both countries. Travellers from Serbia and Montenegro regained access to the Netherlands on July 1 when the Dutch, following European Union guidelines, reopened their borders to a list of 14 countries outside the bloc.

But the government said a rise in coronavirus infections in Serbia and Montenegro had forced it to take those countries off the list again, and that Dutch travellers should only visit them if absolutely necessary. Serbia declared a lockdown in Belgrade over the coming weekend due to the COVID-19 surge, sparking overnight rioting in the capital in which dozens were injured.

Earlier on Wednesday, Austria issued travel warnings for Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova because of the worsening coronavirus situation there.