With the Omicron cases continuously declining, some countries have removed the need for an RT-PCR test as a pre-requisite for travelling.
International travel for Indians: As the COVID-19 cases decline globally and the vaccination coverage improves, many Indians have been anticipating that they would be able to travel internationally this year. The development has come to light in online booking platform Agoda’s ‘India-genous Travel’ survey, in which 39% of the respondents in India expressed their hopes of travelling abroad in 2022. The platform also said that another one of its surveys, “Return to Travel” also found that people were majorly concerned about understanding the COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine or vaccination requirements in other countries.
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However, now with the Omicron wave proving to be not as severe as the past two bouts and with the cases receding, some countries have opened their doors to international travel, allowing people from many countries, including India, to visit without having to present a negative RT-PCR report if they are fully vaccinated.
Egypt, the home of the pyramids, has allowed people who are fully vaccinated after taking the requisite doses of WHO and Egypt-approved vaccines to enter the country without needing an RT-PCR report. However, the vaccine certificate of the traveller must either contain a QR code or be approved by the proper authorities before travel. The visitors also need to fill the health declaration form, to be able to visit the country that houses the beautiful Sahara el Beyda white desert national park and offers an underwater marine life experience at Hurghada.
The Persian Gulf country of Bahrain has now opened the doors for all tourists, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not, and these travellers do not require a PCR test before their departure.
Lebanon is now letting all fully vaccinated travellers into the country without making the PCR test a prerequisite for flying to the country. However, there is one rider. The traveller must have completed their vaccination schedule at least six months before they are travelling to Lebanon. Those who wish to travel to this country, which is home to the Beiteddine Palace and Baalbek – the temple of Bacchus, would need to upload their vaccination certificates on the website of the Ministry of Health.
France, with its Eiffel Tower, Seine River and vineyards in Burgundy, has also scrapped the need for fully vaccinated travellers to get an RT-PCR done before they go to the country. Apart from the country of romance, the land of midnight Sun – Norway – has also done away with RT-PCR tests for travellers who completed their vaccination schedule within nine months of their travel. Those who took their final dose before this time period need to get a booster shot to be able to travel to Norway without a test. Norway is known for Aurora or the Northern Lights, but visitors can see the Arctic Circle, Mount Floyen, Arctic Cathedral and Geirangerfjord region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, during their travel.