Overseas Situation Report Monday 11th July 2021

 

By Mike Evans

“You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again.” – Pat Riley

As the virus moves in ever increasing ferocity around the world, and from country to country, it is increasingly difficult to know which countries one can travel to, as many governments change policy on travel on an almost daily basis.

This report looks at the general world of travel and what countries people can travel to and what restrictions are in place.

We will start with Europe and the area known as Schengen.

Despite the EU trying to work as “one” we are seeing many countries putting their own rules into place. Norway has imposed a mandatory quarantine requirement for arrivals from Luxembourg, due to an increase in the number of infections registered on the latter, Norway’s government has confirmed.

In addition, new changes have been applied to three regions in Finland and some European archipelagos. The new changes will take effect from July 12th and will be kept in place until further notice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) continues to advise all travellers not to travel to countries outside the EEA/Schengen and the United Kingdom, unless absolutely necessary.

According to the announcement of Norway’s authorities, the following European countries will remain in the green category, which includes territories considered safe based on their epidemiological situation; Belgium, Estonia, Bulgaria, France, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Croatia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Malta, Romania, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, the Vatican City and Austria.

According to the authorities in Norway, the following countries belong to the category of countries considered as highly affected by the virus. Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Monaco, Andorra, Spain, UK, Cyprus, and Portugal.

Fully vaccinated travellers can now freely enter the territory of Slovakia, as the country has changed its entry restrictions rules since July 9th, putting to an end the traffic light system, which determines the nationals of which countries could enter Slovakia, depending on country of origin infection rates.

According to a press release issued by the Slovak authorities, the new system depends on the traveller’s vaccination status, thus, border crossings will be open for fully vaccinated passengers,

For those wanting to travel to Slovakia, the border control authorities require a registration form to be filled out after arrival. Categories exempted from this requirement are as the following list indicates:

  • Children younger than 12
  • Passengers transiting through Slovak territory
  • Freight, bus and aircrews, train drivers, train crews and railway operators,
  • Medical service drivers and crews who are transporting a patient, organs for transplantation, blood or blood substitutes,
  • Funeral staff carrying deceased person or its remains

Each time a traveller enters the territory of Slovakia, he or she is obliged to register, with the following categories making an exception:

  • Fully vaccinated people, whose first registration is valid for the next six months
  • People who were recently vaccinated with the first dose of any vaccine
  • People from 12 to 18 years of age, whose first registration is valid until August 9th
  • People travelling for medical reasons, whose first registration is valid for seven days

Moreover, fully vaccinated travellers are considered those that have received the last dose of the Covid-19 vaccine 14 days before arrival but no longer than 12 months ago, whereas for single doses vaccinated travellers, at least 21 days need to pass since the dose was received.

Belgium’s government has decided to recognise the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India, which is currently not recognised on the Digital Covid-19 certificate used by European Union Member States, in order to ease the travel process for vaccinated passengers.

The decision has been announced by Belgium’s Minister of Development Co-operation, Meryame Kitir

Even though the Digital Covid-19 certificate does not recognise the Covlishield vaccine, individual EU countries can decide if they want to recognise specific vaccines approved by the World Health Organization, such as the Covishield one.

With the number of cases increasing in France the cost of testing is now being put onto the person rather than the state. Tests used for detecting the Covid-19 will no longer be free of charge for tourists visiting France, as the government decided on July 7th.

Following authorities’ decision, tourists wanting to leave France will have to pay €49 for a PCR test or €29 for a Rapid Antigen test. Tests used for detecting the Covid-19 will no longer be free of charge for tourists visiting France, as the government decided on July 7th.

This decision has raised fears that travellers will forge certificates attesting to negative Covid-19 tests so they don’t have to pay the money. Travellers found guilty of falsifying, selling, or using fake documents can be sentenced to three years in prison and fined €45,000.

Starting from July 12th, the residents of several more third countries will be eligible to enter Sweden for non-essential purposes, as the authorities have decided to adopt a recommendation of the Council of the EU in this regard.

The decision was taken on July 8th, and as a result, travellers from the following countries will be eligible to enter Sweden even for tourism and visiting friends and relatives: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Darussalam, Canada, Jordan, Kosovo, Montenegro, Qatar, Moldova and Saudi Arabia.

The Finnish authorities have decided to extend the current internal border controls with several Schengen area countries for another two weeks, the country’s Ministry of Interior has announced.

According to a press release of the same Ministry, the Finnish government has decided to continue internal border controls, which were set to expire on July 12th, until July 25th. The move has been taken in order to make sure that municipalities and joint municipal authorities have the necessary time to prepare for the implementation of health security measures under the Communicable Diseases Act.

The countries affected by the prolongation of the internal border controls are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

On the other hand, the existing border controls with Lithuania, Slovenia, and Switzerland will end on Monday, July 12th.

The Ministry notes that Finnish citizens and residents always have the right to leave and return to the country.

As per the rest of the EU and Schengen nationals residing anywhere in the EU and Schengen area, the same will be permitted to enter if they:

  • Have been fully vaccinated, and the final shot has been administered at least two weeks before
  • Have been infected with Covid-19 and recovered within the last six months

And finally, for anyone dreaming of endless summers of the Costa del Sol, late-night buzz of the ancient towns and cities, fresh dishes, or wandering in the streets of Barcelona, Madrid, Grenada, and Seville, such dreams can now become a reality as Spain had decided to welcome vaccinated tourists since June 7th.

Spain is one of the European countries that has been seriously affected by Covid-19, and since the beginning of the pandemic, the country has reported a large number of cases and deaths. After having one of the most stringent lockdowns in Spring 2020, Spain reopened for summer in the same year. Still, in November, the latter entered a State of Emergency once again, leaving the country in continuous lockdown until May 9th, 2021.

Spain has not established a Covid-19 Passport yet, but the country is technically ready to connect to the EU Digital COVID Passport Gateway, With the vaccination rates increasing and the infection cases dropping day by day, Spain may only keep some of its restrictions in place. Travellers from most European Union and Schengen Area countries are allowed to enter Spain without being subject to the quarantine requirement, as long as they have low infection rates.

Almost all regions of Germany and Italy have just recently been excluded from the high-risk list of Spain due to the low infection rates prevailing in the countries. As such, Spain now allows entry for arrivals from these two countries without being required to present proof of vaccination, proof of recovery, or a negative Covid-19 test result. Likewise, all persons arriving from Covid-19 safe countries that have a reciprocal agreement with Spain but are non-EU Member States are also permitted to enter Spain.

So, to close, we can see that as many countries continue to allow tourists to enter, we must all be on our guard as the virus is still very much amongst us.

Until the next time, Stay Safe.

Total Cases Worldwide – 187,647,215

Total Deaths Worldwide – 4,049,350

Total Recovered Worldwide – 171,603,940

Total Active Cases Worldwide – 11,993,925 (6.4% of the total cases)

Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 175,653,290

Information and resources:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

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