Tag: Covid19

Traveling to Europe this summer: The latest COVID-19 info

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Frequently Asked Questions

When Europe reopened its borders to Americans in mid-June, it seemed to promise a summer of relative normality, with U.S. tourists boarding trans-Atlantic flights and once again freely strolling the plazas of the continent’s cities.

The American visitors are back, but, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, so are the restrictions.

Greece

Some regions have brought back nighttime curfews and rules on socializing to contain a sharp rise in coronavirus infections among young people.

France

France, which is battling a fourth wave of the virus, is requiring people to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test to access restaurants, bars, shopping malls and public transport.

Italy

Italy will introduce a similar mandate to France’s in August, requiring at least one dose of the vaccine or a negative test result for social activities, including visiting museums.

Spain

Some regions have brought back nighttime curfews and rules on socializing to contain a sharp rise in coronavirus infections among young people.

On July 26, the U.S. State Department issued a series of “do not travel” advisories for Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Britain because of a rising number of coronavirus cases in those countries, raising the warning level to a 4, the highest. But just days after that warning, the British government announced that fully vaccinated Americans could visit without having to quarantine.

> Britain

Visiting Britain can also be challenging, because it uses a complex “traffic light” system that determines restrictions based on which country you are traveling from. The list also changes every three weeks, or earlier, depending on the status of the coronavirus in each destination.

So while Americans coming straight from the United States don’t have to quarantine, if they first visit France, they would be required to quarantine for 10 days and take multiple tests because of concerns over the prevalence of the Beta variant in that country.

Going from Britain to the countries of the European Union isn’t any easier. A growing number of countries in the bloc have imposed additional measures for travelers from Britain, including PCR tests and quarantine, because of the high rate of the Delta variant in Britain. All visitors traveling from Britain to Italy must present a negative Covid-19 test before departure, quarantine for five days upon arrival, and present another negative test at the end of their isolation period.

*Source: The New York Times


Get up-to-date COVID-19 travel guidance in CheckMyTrip

Now in CheckMyTrip, you can check the COVID-19 travel restrictions for your origin and destination as part of your travel itinerary or directly in the app, in case you don’t have a trip planned yet.

Lern more about the COVID-19 travel guidance here

What is the EU Digital Covid Certificate?

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The European Commission is proposing to create a EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC), previously called the Digital Green Certificate, to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU Digital COVID Certificate will be a proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19.

How does it work?

It will be available, free of charge, in digital or paper format. It will include a QR code to ensure security and authenticity of the certificate.

In March, the head of the European Commission vaccines task force Thierry Breton unveiled the first European “health passport”

The EU DIGITAL COVID CERTIFICATE will cover three types of certificates –vaccination certificates, test certificates (NAAT/RT-PCR test or a rapid antigen test), and certificates for persons who have recovered from COVID-19.

The Commission will build a gateway and support Member States to develop software that authorities can use to verify all certificate signatures across the EU. No personal data of the certificate holders passes through the gateway, or is retained by the verifying Member State.

For whom?

All people – vaccinated and non-vaccinated – should benefit from a EU Digital COVID Certificate when travelling in the EU. To prevent discrimination against individuals who are not vaccinated, the Commission proposes to create not only an interoperable vaccination certificate, but also COVID-19 test certificates and certificates for persons who have recovered from COVID-19.

When can I get one?

Hopefully, by June.The regulation will come into force on July 1 and will have a six-week phasing-in period for any member states that need more time.

However, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on last Thursday the system would be ready at an EU level “in the next few days”, meaning member states would shortly be able to begin their domestic rollouts.

Which vaccines are recognised?

All COVID-19 vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency will be recognised by the EUDCC. These include the jabs developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Member states will also be free to decide for themselves whether to accept other vaccines.

Only essential information and secure personal data

The certificates will include a limited set of information such as name, date of birth, date of issuance, relevant information about vaccine/test/recovery and a unique identifier of the certificate. This data can be checked only to confirm and verify the authenticity and validity of certificates.

The EU Digital COVID Certificate system is a temporary measure. It will be suspended once the World Health Organization (WHO) declares the end of the COVID-19 international health emergency.

The latest information on coronavirus measures as well as travel restrictions are available on the Re-open EU platform.

Get up-to-date COVID-19 travel guidance in CheckMyTrip

Now in CheckMyTrip, you can check the COVID-19 travel restrictions for your origin and destination as part of your travel itinerary or directly in the app, in case you don’t have a trip planned yet.

Sources: Official web of the European Union, Euronews.com