São Paulo – The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced on Thursday (24) that the country will allow some foreign travelers who have received their full course of approved COVID-19 vaccines to enter without taking a PCR test.
Visitors must present officially issued QR-coded certificates to prove they have received one of the vaccines approved by the Egyptian Drug Authority and the World Health Organization (WHO), which are Sputnik, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Johnson & Johnson (aka Janssen, which only requires one dose).
In a statement to airports and ports, the ministry said that entry without a PCR test will be granted to those who received their second jab more than 14 days before traveling.
However, travelers from countries with the Delta variant are considered high-risk, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Brazil, and must present a negative PCR test or vaccine certificate upon arrival.
Moreover, these passengers will undergo a quick test upon arrival, regardless of their vaccination status. If the result of that test is positive, a PCR test will be performed. If the PCR test is also positive, the passenger will be transferred to a designated hospital to quarantine.
On Thursday, Egypt reported 466 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total since the pandemic began to 278,761.
Egypt lifted many restrictions at the beginning of June and hopes to see an upsurge in tourism this year, as that sector usually accounts for 15% of the country’s GDP.
*With information from newspapers Arab News and Egypt Independent.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
