Travel restrictions may soon ease across the European Union.
On Tuesday, the European Council recommended member states “lift the temporary restriction on non-essential travel” into the EU for people who have either been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or recovered from the virus within the last 180 days.
Both EU-approved and WHO-approved vaccines would qualify, including all three vaccines available in the U.S.: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Travelers would need to have received their last dose at least 14 days and at most 270 days before arrival or have received a booster shot.
Travelers could still be required to present negative results from a PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure if they don’t have an EU digital COVID certificate or equivalent certification.
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The Council is not recommending testing for children under age 6, but says older children “should be allowed to travel with a negative PCR test taken at the earliest 72 hours before departure.”
The start date for the new guidance is March 1.
While EU recommendations are non-binding and member states have the right to decide their own rules, many of the countries followed suit when the council recommend gradually lifting restrictions for travelers last June.
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