The first "Covid-tested" flight has arrived in Rome from New York, an initiative designed to open up air routes between Europe and the US blocked by the pandemic.
Passengers had to show they had returned a negative virus test within 48 hours of getting on the Alitalia flight from JFK airport
They were also required to take another test on arrival at Rome's Fiumicino.
All 100 passengers on board came up negative, according to the AGI news agency, allowing them to avoid a 14-day quarantine required of other arrivals from the US.
Among them was Chiara, an Italian living in the United States who is visiting her parents with her husband and seven-month-old son.
"It's been almost a year since we returned to Italy," she said.
"In April our son was born and so far no one from our family has met him. That's why we are so thrilled."
Everyone on board still had to wear masks and replace them every four hours, according to airport authorities.
"This is an extraordinary experiment, because it rekindles hope for air travel, mobility and the economy even in the presence of coronavirus," said Nicola Zingaretti, head of the Lazio region that includes Rome.
The move follows the launch in September of so-called virus-free domestic flights between Rome and financial capital Milan.
Covid-19 case detected on Singapore 'cruise-to-nowhere'
A "cruise to nowhere" off Singapore has been cut short after a passenger tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said, a blow to efforts to revive the hard-hit industry.
The voyages, starting and ending at the city-state with no stops, began last month, marking the resumption of cruises after a months-long hiatus due to travel restrictions.
But early this morning the holiday calm was shattered by an announcement the cruise was being cut short after an 83-year-old male passenger had tested positive.
"One guest aboard Quantum of the Seas tested positive for coronavirus after checking in with our medical team," operator Royal Caribbean said in a statement.
"We identified and isolated all guests and crew who had close contact with this guest, and each of those individuals have subsequently tested negative for the virus."
The vessel had 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew on board, and arrived early morning in the city-state after turning back on day three of a four-day cruise.
The Singapore tourism board said all on-board leisure activities were halted and passengers were asked to stay in their cabins.
Passengers and crew remained on board until contract tracing was complete, and disembarked in the evening, Singapore broadcaster CNA reported.
They had to take a Covid-19 test at the cruise terminal before heading home, and will need to take another 14 days later, officials said.
The "cruises to nowhere" have proved a hit in tiny Singapore after people were unable to go on overseas holidays for months due to travel restrictions.
A raft of safety measures had been rolled out to prevent virus outbreaks, such as disinfecting public areas and reducing the number of passengers on board.
But some had warned of the potential for the virus to spread on the liner after several vessels were hit with outbreaks earlier this year.
The cancellation is the latest blow to the finance hub's travel industry, after a "bubble" allowing travel between Singapore and Hong Kong without quarantine was delayed indefinitely after the Chinese city reported a spike in virus cases.
Germany reports record virus death toll as restrictions eased
Germany is battling a second coronavirus wave much more deadly than the first with a record death toll of 590 reported today.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging regions to take much more drastic action to curb the spread, after state leaders agreed measures that would see comparatively modest social restrictions eased even further for the Christmas holidays.
"If we have too many contacts before Christmas and it ends up being the last Christmas with the grandparents, then we'd really have failed," she said.
Two weeks ago, Germany's states agreed rules limiting social mixing to five people but agreed to double the limit to 10 for the holiday season - something Mrs Merkel argued against.
She was not the only one issuing dire warnings.
United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet told reporters that the pandemic had zeroed in on fissures in societies and had exposed "all our failures to invest in building fair and equitable societies".
Proving her point, experts are warning that hunger in the Philippines has reached new levels thanks in part to restrictions that have crippled the economy and left many without livelihoods.
"If you go out there everybody will tell you that they're more afraid of dying from hunger than dying from Covid," said Jomar Fleras of the Rise Against Hunger non-governmental organisation.
