Health Minister recommends Covid-19 tests be mandatory even for vaccinated tourists
Health Minister said that in this case the movement of tourists inside the country will be 'much safer for our citizens'. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze has recommended that even vaccinated travellers entering Georgia should receive a Covid-19 test in the country.
…this is important to have guarantees that we are not dealing with falsified documentation. Testing should be a regulation, not a recommendation", she said.
She said that in this case the movement of tourists inside the country will be 'much safer for our citizens'.
Currently, travellers from all countries can enter Georgia on various conditions, except for individuals travelling from India (regardless of citizenship and a full course of vaccination) as well as individuals with a history of travel to India in the last 14 days.
Travellers are admitted through the land borders of Georgia with evidence of full vaccination and negative PCR test results or alternatively only with a negative PCR test result taken within the last 72 hours, in which case a follow-up test three days after entry is necessary.
The same rule applies when entering via the sea borders of the country.
Travellers entering the country by air are required to present documentation confirming a full course (two doses, one dose in the case of Johnson & Johnson) of any Covid-19 vaccination at the border checkpoints of Georgia and are allowed to enter the country.
Visitors to Georgia are required to have health insurance, which can be acquired either in their countries of residence or in Georgia.
From April 15, despite Covid vaccine passports, all Indian visitors entering Georgia will be required to present PCR test results from the proceeding 72 hours. After entering Georgia, individuals coming from India (regardless of their citizenship) will have to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine, which should be financed by their own budget.
The first flow of vaccinated tourists will appear in Georgia in the second half of March, Economy Minister Natia Turnava said earlier today.
After more than a year-long closure due to the coronavirus pandemic Georgia has today opened its land borders. Individuals are admitted through the land borders of Georgia with evidence of full vaccination and negative PCR test results or alternatively only with a negative PCR test result taken within the last 72 hours. A follow up test three days after entry must also be taken.
In January-April of 2021, revenue from foreign tourism decreased by 77.5% year-on-year in Georgia, says Galt & Taggart, an investment banking and investment management services company in Georgia.
Georgia is among the 27 countries from which travel to Belgium is banned since it has been classified as one of the high-risk countries amid concerns about the Delta variant of coronavirus in Belgium's recently updated travel measures.
Fully vaccinated Georgian citizens are able to travel to the Netherlands starting July 1 for tourism purposes, announces the Embassy of Georgia in the Netherlands. People travelling to the Netherlands must be fully vaccinated with vaccines recognised by the European Medicines Agency or by the World Health Organisation.
Lebanon and Jordan have been added to the list of countries whose citizens can enter Georgia with negative PCR tests, the coordination council decided today. Citizens and residents of 40 countries can now enter Georgia with negative PCR tests, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site says.