Peru Removes 14 Day Quarantine For International Arrivals

Peru has announced they will drop the 14-day mandatory quarantine requirement that was implemented in January for travelers entering the country. The news comes in response to a slight decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Peru has also suspended the PCR test requirement for traveling to national destinations, but it remains in effect for international travelers.

Peru’s Restrictions Over The Last Year

After one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, Peru reopened for tourism in October 2020 without a quarantine on arrival. A negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival was still a requirement.

On Jan 4, 2021, Peru re-implemented the 14-day quarantine for fear of new strains of the virus, essentially shutting down tourism again.

This week, The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism for Pery, Claudia Cornejo, has announced they will drop the 14-day mandatory quarantine for travelers entering the country on March 15th, 2021.

The decision to relax the restrictive measures for travelers in Peru came after a slight improvement in the daily number of infections during the last two weeks, particularly in the capital city Lima.

PCR Test Still Required for International Travelers

While the PCR test requirement for traveling to national destinations has been suspended, travelers coming from other countries will still need to fulfill the testing requirement.

This means all passengers must obtain a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure from the first embarkation point into the country. Without proof of these negative results, the passenger will not be able to board their flight into Peru.

Antigen tests and proof of recovery are also accepted. The medical discharge certificate must be at least 14 days old and not older than 6 months. 

Travelers must still follow all other health measures, such as the mandatory use of a mask and face shield in airport facilities and inside airplanes.

Current Situation in Peru

Despite its tough lockdowns, Peru has been one of the hardest-hit nations in the western hemisphere, recording over 1,300,000 total cases, according to data from John Hopkins.

The National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases (CDC) has reported a decrease in recent weeks in infections and hospitalizations in fifteen regions of the country.

The director of the CDC, Julio Ruiz, has said that the transmission factor, known as Rt, stood at 0.7 in the country during the last two weeks, which is well below December when the figure stood at 1.3%.

The authorities have also said that 358,995 people have already been vaccinated as part of the immunization campaign being carried out in the country, with doses from Sinopharm and Pfizer.

The tourism industry in Peru has been badly hurt from the pandemic, down more than 70% of its pre-pandemic levels.

While Peru welcomed over 4 million visitors in 2019, in 2020 they only saw a small fraction of that number. 

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism has said that a campaign will be launched in April to restart the tourism sector to position Peru as a destination offering safe and first-class tourism products.

One of Peru’s biggest international draws, Machu Picchu, has also recently reopened at 40% capacity after having been closed throughout February due to a coronavirus lockdown. Perurail train service and access to Machu Picchu was restored on March 1, 2021.

Source: http://bit.ly/3vsBKdO