The European Council, which brings together the governments of the 27 countries of the European Union, relaxed the rules for accepting tourists from outside the bloc, but left it up to each member state to accept fully vaccinated travelers.
The list of countries without travel restrictions will grow, with the new contagion rate limit of 75 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days. So far, the relationship has eight countries: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Israel and China – offering reciprocity.
In addition to the rate of new cases, the EU assesses whether the contagion trend is up or down, the number of tests performed per capita, the rate of positive results, the progress of vaccination and the presence of variants . According to the Council, it also counts the country’s overall response to the pandemic – tests are applied, contact tracing, isolation and reliable information.
The new barrier allows entry from the UK, which has recorded 44 new cases per 100,000 population in the past 14 days – for comparison, in Brazil the incidence rate is 395 / 100,000. United States, on the other hand, with 176/100 000, would remain outside the security criteria.
Under the new rules, it is up to each country to agree to the vaccination to avoid restrictions such as testing and quarantine. Those making this decision should, “in principle”, allow travel for those who have received the last recommended dose of a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or the World Health Organization (WHO). , at least 14 days before arrival.
Until Thursday (20), the EMA has authorized the use of vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen, and is evaluating Coronavac (China) and Sputnik V (Russia). In addition to the four approved in Europe, the WHO has recommended the use of the one manufactured by Chinese Sinopharm.
The EU is still discussing the rules for accepting vaccination certificates from countries outside the bloc. According to the Council, until their definition, each country must take into account “the possibility of being able to verify the authenticity, validity and integrity” of the document presented by a foreign traveler.
Governments have also adopted the emergency brake, which applies an immediate suspension of travel whenever the epidemiological situation in a country or region worsens rapidly, “particularly if a disturbing or interesting variant is detected”.
The curb does not apply to EU citizens or residents of the bloc, but they will be subject to testing and quarantine if they come from those places.
Despite the agreement between the countries and the approval of the Council, each national government remains responsible for the rules of entry into its country.