Malta to Drop Its COVID Entry Restrictions on July 25
According to the official travel portal of Malta, Visit Malta, starting from July 25, all travellers will be permitted restriction-free entry. This means that Malta will no longer require travellers to present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate upon arrival, AtoZSerwisPlus.mt reports.
“As from July 25, 2022, people travelling to Malta without a vaccine certificate or a recovery certificate do not need to present a negative PCR/Rapid Test before arriving in Malta,” the statement of Visit Malta reads.
Until July 25, when this decision officially starts being effective, all travellers visiting Malta must hold valid COVID-19 proof.
The Maltese government notes that all travellers, regardless of their country of origin, currently must present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate. In addition, the same notes that the certificates must meet the validity rules.
The requirement to present one of the passes currently applies to all persons over 12.
Malta plans on dropping its entry rules despite the increasing COVID infection cases throughout the European continent.
The World Health Organization shows that Malta has recorded 3,769 new Coronavirus infection cases in the last seven days.
As for the vaccination rates, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) shows that Malta has administered 1,248,452 vaccine doses as of June 30. ECDC further explains that 93.9 per cent of the entire adult population in Malta has completed primary vaccination, and another 80.5 per cent of the population has received the first booster shot.
While Malta is expected to drop its entry rules after two weeks, the majority of the European Union/Schengen Area countries have already done so.
The list of the EU/Schengen Area countries that have dropped all of their COVID-related entry restrictions includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland.
All travellers, regardless of their country of origin, can enter the above-mentioned countries even if they do not hold a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate.
Previously, the EU approved a €12 million Maltese aid measure in favour of Malta International Airport. Announcing the approval of this measure, the Commission of the European Union said that the measure intends to compensate the operator for the damage suffered from March 21 to June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.
