MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

It is official now: Fully vaccinated travelers need no covid-19 test to enter Uruguay

The Coronavirus Fund is holding back the lifting of sanitary measures altogether

The Government of Uruguay has agreed to allow people vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the country with no further testing or swabbing as of April 1, it was announced Friday.

”Those who have not had the COVID-19 disease within the last 10 to 90 days prior to embarkation or arrival in the country and who cannot prove having received the single dose or the two doses, depending on the type of vaccine provided against the SARS CoV-2 virus approved by their country of origin, must additionally prove a negative test result of a SARS CoV-2 virus detection test (by molecular biology technique PCR-RT, antigens or diagnostic techniques approved by [Uruguay's] Ministry of Public Health, performed no more than 72 hours before the beginning of the trip (provided that the passenger is in transit), in an authorized laboratory in the country of origin or transit,“ the Government's decree stated.

Children under 6 years of age are exempted from the measure. However, they must comply wear a facemask and observe social distancing, among other sanitary precautions.

People diagnosed with covid-19 or with symptoms thereof within the last seven days prior to arrival in Uruguay will not be allowed into the country.

President Luis Lacalle Pou will meet Monday with Health Minister Daniel Salinas to further evaluate the current situation. ”Every day I wake up with the intention of putting an end to this emergency,“ Lacalle had said last month. However, the full suppression of the sanitary emergency amid a waning number of cases is being delayed for ”both sanitary and administrative” reasons, according to Montevideo's El Observador.

The main reason is the Coronavirus Fund, which is to receive US$ 400 million in financing by 2022, as announced by Economy Minister Azucena Arbeleche. This fund, which in 2021 handed out US$ 1,153 million, is used for unemployment grants, sickness allowances, and hospital expenses, as well as to cover exemptions awarded to sectors affected by the pandemic and COVID-19 testing campaigns. According to Lacalle, this Fund amounted to US$ 1 million daily.