EU prepares to open to the vaccinated world
May 19 2021 10:55 PM
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By Alex Macheras
The European Union has agreed to reopen its borders to all travellers who are fully vaccinated in what is the most significant travel announcement in multiple months. European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to ease Covid-19 travel restrictions on non-EU visitors ahead of the summer tourist season.
The new travel policy for fully-vaccinated travellers to EU could go into effect as early as next week, per European officials. The EU has confirmed it will accept travellers who have full immunisation from: Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines.
In addition to the new ‘fully-vaccinated’ traveller policy, a new and expanded list of safe countries (based on epidemiological criteria) will be finalised on Friday.
Travellers from this specific ‘safe list’ will be able to travel to EU even if they are not fully vaccinated, They are expected to set a new list this week or early next week. Based on data from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Fully-vaccinated” means people should have received final doses at least 14 days before travel. Under the plan, EU countries that waive test or quarantine requirements for vaccinated EU tourists are encouraged to do the same for vaccinated non-EU holidaymakers. Children should also be able to travel with vaccinated parents.
An emergency brake could be used temporarily to stop all but essential travel from a particular country to limit the risk of more infectious coronavirus variants entering the EU. Such a brake has been proposed for India.
The new rules will replace a blanket ban on non-essential travel from most countries outside the EU. Some member states, such as Greece, already permit tourists to visit without quarantine requirements if they have been inoculated.
Europe is eager to kick-start tourism this summer after international arrivals to the region dropped by 70% in 2020, wreaking havoc on its economy.
As the worldwide vaccine rollout continues, countries are beginning to announce their intentions to open up borders to travellers for the first time in several months, or in some cases — since the pandemic began.
“If you are fully-vaccinated, you should feel good about participating in things that are important to you,” says Dr Preeti Malani, an infectious disease specialist and chief health officer at the University of Michigan. Just remember, you still want to behave in ways that reduce the risks for everyone.
Spain expects to welcome around 45mn foreign tourists in 2021, just over half the number who came in 2019 before the pandemic struck, the tourism minister said yesterday. “It’s a cautious forecast but it’s realistic, that we can recover half of the international tourists that we had in 2019,” Reyes Maroto told reporters.
The world’s second most popular destination after France, Spain registered 83.5mn foreign visitors in 2019, official figures show.
People who are fully-vaccinated against Covid-19 can travel freely in the US, as long as they remain masked on planes, buses and trains. (One has to wonder who is making the rules and the common sense in it.)
The new travel policy for fully-vaccinated travellers to EU could go into effect as early as next week, per European officials. The EU has confirmed it will accept travellers who have full immunisation from: Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines.
In addition to the new ‘fully-vaccinated’ traveller policy, a new and expanded list of safe countries (based on epidemiological criteria) will be finalised on Friday.
Travellers from this specific ‘safe list’ will be able to travel to EU even if they are not fully vaccinated, They are expected to set a new list this week or early next week. Based on data from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Fully-vaccinated” means people should have received final doses at least 14 days before travel. Under the plan, EU countries that waive test or quarantine requirements for vaccinated EU tourists are encouraged to do the same for vaccinated non-EU holidaymakers. Children should also be able to travel with vaccinated parents.
An emergency brake could be used temporarily to stop all but essential travel from a particular country to limit the risk of more infectious coronavirus variants entering the EU. Such a brake has been proposed for India.
The new rules will replace a blanket ban on non-essential travel from most countries outside the EU. Some member states, such as Greece, already permit tourists to visit without quarantine requirements if they have been inoculated.
Europe is eager to kick-start tourism this summer after international arrivals to the region dropped by 70% in 2020, wreaking havoc on its economy.
As the worldwide vaccine rollout continues, countries are beginning to announce their intentions to open up borders to travellers for the first time in several months, or in some cases — since the pandemic began.
“If you are fully-vaccinated, you should feel good about participating in things that are important to you,” says Dr Preeti Malani, an infectious disease specialist and chief health officer at the University of Michigan. Just remember, you still want to behave in ways that reduce the risks for everyone.
Spain expects to welcome around 45mn foreign tourists in 2021, just over half the number who came in 2019 before the pandemic struck, the tourism minister said yesterday. “It’s a cautious forecast but it’s realistic, that we can recover half of the international tourists that we had in 2019,” Reyes Maroto told reporters.
The world’s second most popular destination after France, Spain registered 83.5mn foreign visitors in 2019, official figures show.
People who are fully-vaccinated against Covid-19 can travel freely in the US, as long as they remain masked on planes, buses and trains. (One has to wonder who is making the rules and the common sense in it.)
The CDC said Covid-19 tests are no longer required for fully-vaccinated people before or after a trip within the US, and there is no need for them to self-quarantine. The guidance doesn’t mention whether people need proof of vaccination to travel, though no US airlines currently require such documentation.
Back in the EU, the bloc is also working on a “green certificate” that would work as a one-stop platform for recording Covid-19 vaccinations, tests and recovery to facilitate movement across the region this summer.
There is strong global support for vaccine passports, a new Ipsos survey for the World Economic Forum shows. More than three-quarters of people worldwide think they should be mandatory for travel. The Ipsos survey included over 21,000 people in 28 countries and found strong support (78%) for requiring travellers to carry Covid passports. The strongest support was in Malaysia and Peru where 92% and 90% of people backed vaccine passports for travel.
There was a majority in favour of vaccine passports in every nation surveyed. Citizens of Hungary (52% in favour) and Poland (58%) were the least enthusiastic about the idea.
Almost three-quarters (73%) said vaccine passports would make travel and large events safer, with support ranging from more than eight in 10 people in Argentina, China, India, Malaysia and Peru to 52% in Hungary and 53% in Russia.
Globally, 67% said Covid-19 passports should also be compulsory in public venues like stadiums and concert halls with the strongest support in India, Chile and Malaysia (all 84%) while in Russia and Hungary only 31% and 47% agreed they were necessary.
Two-thirds of those surveyed (66%) said they expected vaccine passports to be in widespread use in their country by the end of this year, although there were wide variations in opinions ranging from 81% in India and Peru to fewer than a third (32%) in Russia.
Strongest support for retaining them for only a few months came from Spain (54%) and Mexico (48%) while Japan was the only nation where a majority supported requiring vaccine passports for several years or indefinitely.* The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
Back in the EU, the bloc is also working on a “green certificate” that would work as a one-stop platform for recording Covid-19 vaccinations, tests and recovery to facilitate movement across the region this summer.
There is strong global support for vaccine passports, a new Ipsos survey for the World Economic Forum shows. More than three-quarters of people worldwide think they should be mandatory for travel. The Ipsos survey included over 21,000 people in 28 countries and found strong support (78%) for requiring travellers to carry Covid passports. The strongest support was in Malaysia and Peru where 92% and 90% of people backed vaccine passports for travel.
There was a majority in favour of vaccine passports in every nation surveyed. Citizens of Hungary (52% in favour) and Poland (58%) were the least enthusiastic about the idea.
Almost three-quarters (73%) said vaccine passports would make travel and large events safer, with support ranging from more than eight in 10 people in Argentina, China, India, Malaysia and Peru to 52% in Hungary and 53% in Russia.
Globally, 67% said Covid-19 passports should also be compulsory in public venues like stadiums and concert halls with the strongest support in India, Chile and Malaysia (all 84%) while in Russia and Hungary only 31% and 47% agreed they were necessary.
Two-thirds of those surveyed (66%) said they expected vaccine passports to be in widespread use in their country by the end of this year, although there were wide variations in opinions ranging from 81% in India and Peru to fewer than a third (32%) in Russia.
Strongest support for retaining them for only a few months came from Spain (54%) and Mexico (48%) while Japan was the only nation where a majority supported requiring vaccine passports for several years or indefinitely.* The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
EU to open to vaccinated visitors amid covid crisis