Netherlands Reclassifies South Africa as Very High-Risk Zone

Authorities in the Netherlands have reclassified South Africa as a very high-risk zone without a variant of concern, the country’s government has confirmed.

The recent decision that became effective on January 16 means that South African citizens who have completed their immunization process against the virus are exempted from the EU entry ban. However, travellers still are obliged to present a negative result of the Coronavirus test upon their arrival in the Dutch Republic and follow quarantine requirements, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The Netherlands’ authorities have confirmed that all persons over the age of 12 are obliged to follow mandatory quarantine requirements upon their arrival in this country.

“All travellers over the age of 12 are required to self-quarantine for ten days and must complete and sign a quarantine declaration,” the statement reads.

In addition, all passengers over the age of 12 are obliged to present a negative result of the COVID-19 PCR test, not older than 48 hours before departure, or a negative antigen test not older than 24 hours before departure.

“Passengers in transit will not be required to quarantine but must complete a quarantine declaration,” the statement reveals.

According to the figures published by the World Health Organization (WHO), over 3,568,900 people have tested positive for the Coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, while a total of 21,155 people lost their lives during the same period.

In addition, the figures published by WHO also show that in the last seven days, over 226,130 people have contracted the Coronavirus while 76 people have died.

Authorities in the Netherlands have tightened their entry requirements for arrivals from other countries in order to prevent another increase in the number of infections.

Besides, the government of the Netherlands also announced that it is planning to shorten the validity of the vaccination documents starting from next month.

Following the latest rules regarding the EU Vaccination Certificate, the Dutch Republic will accept only the documents that indicate that the holder has taken the last vaccine dose within nine months.

In order to halt the spread of the virus, especially the Omicron variant, during the end-of-year holiday season, the Netherlands government previously entered a strict lockdown.

Back then, the country’s Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, stressed that the Dutch authorities needed to intervene as the Omicron was spreading faster than expected.

In December, authorities in the Netherlands abolished the flight ban imposed for arrivals from Southern African countries due to the Coronavirus.

More info on SchengenVisaInfo.com

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