The Overseas Situation Report Friday 25th March 2022
by Mike Evans
“No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow”
English Proverb
With the world concentrating on the War that is happening in Ukraine it has been a while since we last posted an Overseas report. For this report we are reporting on the situation across Europe with regards to the covid travel restrictions that are still in place.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has revealed through its latest update that even though the COVID-19 situation has started to improve in some specific areas, other ones keep on registering new infection cases. The maps updated yesterday, on March 24, by the EU Health Agency show that several popular destinations – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, and Austria – have been registering increased infection cases.
Taking into account the high number of newly detected infection cases, ECDC has explained that all these countries are either coloured dark red or red on their map which we have reproduced on our Facebook page.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), of all EU countries, France has been registering the highest infection rate. Data provided by WHO show that France has reported 713,812 new COVID-19 infection cases in the last seven days.
Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, and Austria have also been registering increased numbers of infection cases. In the last seven days, Germany reported 1,606,389 new infection cases. During the same period, Italy reported 506,984 new cases, Spain reported 78,463 new cases, the Netherlands reported 295,374 cases, Poland reported 61,462 cases, Belgium reported 56,577 new cases, and Austria reported 308,620 new cases.
Taking into account the sudden increase of COVID-19 cases, travellers might feel hesitant about taking a trip outside their country this spring.
However, according to many travel experts, it is completely safe for vaccinated persons to travel within the EU as the current Omicron subvariant is milder than the previous variants.
“The subvariant of Omicron, known as BA.2, is less likely to result in severe illness. Travellers who have completed their primary vaccination, as well as those who have received an additional vaccine dose, do not need to put their plans on hold. However, everyone is still recommended to follow basic health measures, such as washing hands regularly and staying home when experiencing any symptoms,” the experts assert.
While ECDC currently advises that only persons who have been fully vaccinated and recovered from the virus take non-essential trips, several EU countries now permit entry to everyone, even to unvaccinated and unrecovered persons.
After concluding that the virus no longer causes serious health implications, six European Union and European Economic Area countries – Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Romania, and Slovenia – have decided to lift all their COVID-19 restrictions.
As spring and summer holidays approach, six European Union/European Economic Area countries have already announced that they no longer ask travellers to present valid COVID-19 proof upon arrival.
Hungary lifted its entry restrictions earlier this month. Announcing the decision, the Hungarian government said that all incoming travellers, regardless of their country of origin, can now enter Hungary without having to present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate upon their arrival.
In addition, Hungary has also abolished the majority of its domestic COVID-19 restrictions. Travellers are no longer required to hold a valid vaccination or recovery pass when accessing cafes, restaurants, bars, cinemas, and museums, among others.
Similarly, travellers are exempt from all the entry rules when entering Iceland too.
“All COVID-19 measures at the Icelandic border have now ended. Thereby no COVID-19 prevention measures will be in place at the border, regardless of whether individuals are vaccinated or unvaccinated,” the statement of the Icelandic authorities reads.
While in Iceland, travellers are not required to follow any national measures as the country has abolished them too.
Irish authorities also announced earlier this month that the country would no longer require travellers to present one of the certificates upon entry. Moreover, Ireland has also removed the requirement to fill in the Passenger Locator Form.
Just like the three above-mentioned countries, Norway also permits restriction-free entry to travellers. All persons, even unvaccinated and unrecovered ones, have been able to enter Norway without having to worry about the entry and domestic rules.
Slovenia has lifted all its measures too. All travellers, regardless of their country of origin, can now enter Slovenia without being required to provide proof of their vaccination or recovery status. However, the authorities have explained some categories of travellers are still required to complete the Passenger Locator Form.
Unlike Slovenia, Romania applies more relaxed rules. Apart from removing the requirement to present a vaccination or recovery certificate, the country’s authorities have also lifted the requirement to fill out the Passenger Locator Form.
Other countries, such as Germany, France, and Italy, have also eased some of their COVID-19 rules. The majority of them no longer require travellers to hold a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate when accessing different public places and events. All travellers, regardless of their vaccination and recovery status, can now enter these six countries for all kinds of purposes without having to present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate upon their entry.
Other countries have also eased some of their restrictions. The majority of them have already lifted their domestic COVID-19 rules, meaning that they no longer require travellers to hold valid proof when accessing different public places and events. While travellers have welcomed the decision of EU countries to lift or relax some of their restrictions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) remains cautious about the current situation.
WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said earlier this week that the EU countries lifted their restrictions ‘too brutally’. According to him, the COVID-19 infection cases have been increasing rapidly within the EU as some countries dropped their measures too early.
It remains to be seen if these words from the WHO come to pass or as many others feel the time’s right now for the world to start getting back to what it was doing two years ago.
Until the next time Stay Safe and happy Travelling if you are…
Total Cases Worldwide – 480,082,835
Total Deaths Worldwide – 6,143,626
Total Recovered Worldwide – 414,493,135
Total Active Cases Worldwide – 59,446,074 (12.4 % of the total cases)
Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 420,636,761
Information and Resources:
https://www.worldometer.info/coronavirus/