Malta Further Relaxes Its COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
The Maltese official travel portal, Visit Malta, has revealed that starting from today, May 9, Malta will no longer classify other countries as red or dark red.
This means that all incoming travellers, regardless of their country of origin, will no longer need a pre-travel authorisation by the Superintendent of Public Health, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
“With effect from Monday, May 9, 2022, COVID-19 restrictions related to travel will once again be relaxed, as countries will no longer be classified as Red or Dark Red. This also means that the need for pre-travel authorisation by the Superintendent of Public Health from countries which until now are on the dark red list will no longer be needed,” the statement of Visit Malta reads.
The Maltese authorities have said that from May 9, travel to the country will depend on the immunity status of a person, meaning that all travellers are required to present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate to be permitted entry to Malta without having to follow any additional rules.
The requirement to present one of the certificates mentioned above applies to all travellers over the age of six.
Malta applies the same validity period on COVID passes as the other EU countries. A vaccination certificate is only recognised if it proves that the holder has completed primary vaccination in the last 270 days or if the holder has received a booster shot.
On the other hand, the recovery passes are only accepted if they indicate that the holder has recovered from the COVID-19 in the last 180 days.
As for the COVID test, the Maltese authorities explain that the country accepts both rapid antigen and PCR tests. The rapid antigen test must be taken within 24 hours prior to arrival in Malta, whereas the PCR test must be taken within 72 hours before arrival in Malta.
Malta has already facilitated some other COVID-19 restrictions. Since May 2, travellers have been able to enter Malta without having to fill out the Passenger Locator Form.
In addition, Malta has dropped the mask requirement. Travellers are no longer required to wear a face mask when entering different public places and events.
The decision of Malta to relax its COVID-19 restrictions follows the low infection rates. The data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that Malta has registered 1,048 new infection cases in the last seven days.
Regarding the vaccination rates, ECDC reveals that 93.8 per cent of the entire adult population in Malta has completed primary vaccination as of May 5.
