The Delta variant has become the latest strain to cause further travel restrictions. The Delta variant, first identified in India, has now become dominant in a number of countries worldwide. Considered to be much more transmissible and labelled a ‘variant of concern’, its spread has lead to changes in travel restrictions – particularly in Europe. The rising Delta cases have resulted in some rapid changes to entry requirements since last week.
These are some recent changes to travel restrictions as a result of the Delta variant:
Malta
Thanks to the dominance of the Delta variant in the UK, Malta will only allow fully vaccinated travellers from the UK to enter the country.
Portugal
Also restricting travellers from the United Kingdom is Portugal. Any arrivals from the UK who did not receive the second dose of the vaccine more than 2 weeks prior to arrival must quarantine for two weeks. This will be in effect until the 11th of July.
Spain
Spain, too has added restrictions for UK arrivals, requiring a negative PCR test for all non-vaccinated travellers.
Greece
Greece requires travellers from Russia to present a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours or a rapid test no older than 48 hours, and be tested again on arrival. This applies to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated travellers.
Germany
Germany has placed a travel ban on those coming from Portugal, Russia and the UK because of the high number of variant cases in those countries.
Poland
Poland has placed a mandatory 10 day quarantine on all arrivals from outside of the Schengen Zone. This is to prevent further spread of the Delta variant within the country.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong has banned all flights from the UK because of the concerning number of Delta cases in the country.
United States of America
USA has heightened its ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for the UAE, Liberia, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia thanks to a surge of cases in those countries.
If you wish to book a trip, we would advise checking with your government before travelling as restrictions can change rapidly.