CNW- While the coronavirus infection numbers continue their rapid decline, travel restrictions continue to ease across several nations and regions, signaling a revitalizing of tourism. Just as several countries in the Caribbean region have started to pull back regulations, the European Union (EU) is now formally announcing ease to boost tourism.
The European Council is recommending that EU nations next month lift all testing and quarantine requirements for people who received vaccines authorized in the EU or approved by the World Health Organization.
The announcement came just one day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he would end all COVID-19 restrictions in England.
The European Council member countries also agreed Tuesday that they should further facilitate tourist travel into the 27-nation bloc for vaccinated people against the coronavirus or who have recovered from COVID-19.
Individuals who received the last dose of their primary vaccination series at least 14 days and no more than 270 days before arrival, or who received a booster dose, would be eligible, and those who recovered from COVID-19 within 180 days travel.
The EU’s executive commission welcomed the non-binding guidance, which clarifies that no test or additional requirements should be applied to children under six who are traveling with an adult.
“The updates will further facilitate travel from outside the EU into the EU, and take into account the evolution of the pandemic, the increasing vaccination uptake worldwide, and the administration of booster doses,” the European Commission said.
Travelers who received vaccines that were approved but WHO but are not authorized for use in the EU may still be asked to present a negative PCR test or to quarantine, the European Council said.
So far, the EU has authorized the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax.
