EU advises further relaxing Covid travel rules for foreigners

European Union member countries agreed Tuesday that they should further facilitate tourist travel into the 27-nation bloc for people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus or have recovered from Covid-19.

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.

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 have received a booster dose, would be eligible along with those who recovered from Covid-19 within 180 days of travel.

The EU’s executive commission welcomed the non-binding guidance, which also makes clear that no test or additional requirements should be applied to children under 6 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 by 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. [AP]