Covid-19: Uruguay to waive quarantine for vaccinated foreigners

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguay will exempt, from the mandatory quarantine upon arrival, those foreigners who prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 “within the past 9 months prior to boarding,” according to an October 4 decree published Thursday on the Presidency’s website.

“People who prove they have been vaccinated against SARS CoV-2 with the single-dose or the two doses, depending on the type of vaccine supplied, approved by their country of origin within the past 9 months prior to entering Uruguay will be exempted from complying with the provisions of paragraph E,” the document states.

This point established that anyone entering the country must remain in “mandatory preventive social isolation” for 7 days, after which they must take a PCR test, or extend this period for an additional week.

The recent decree adds that, in this case, visitors are required to present the certificate issued by their country of origin’s health authority certifying vaccination and compliance with the above-mentioned deadlines.

The text also states that minors coming from countries that do not vaccinate that age range must undergo a PCR test on the 7th day after entering the country or, failing that, must be isolated for 14 days.

Uruguay’s borders have been open since September 1 for foreigners with property in the country, in addition to Uruguayans, residents and exceptional cases (for economic-labor, diplomatic or family reasons). The South American country will open its borders to foreign tourists on November 1.

Uruguay remains in the yellow zone of the Harvard index, which accumulates the weekly average of new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Specifically, it totals 3.08, with 11 of the country’s 19 departments in the green zone, that is, with an index of less than 1.