Brazil and Uruguay no longer require PCR test for vaccinated visitors

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian government decided on Saturday to no longer require the negative result of a 72-hour antiviral test when entering the country, but only to validate the vaccination certificate.

A resolution of the Ministries of Interior, Health, Justice, and Infrastructure, published Friday evening in the Official Gazette, states that from this Saturday, the valid document for entry into Brazil will be the printed or digital certificate of a complete vaccination cycle of more than 14 days.

The traveler’s health declaration, previously required by airlines before boarding a plane to Brazil, will no longer be needed.

(Dr. Robert Malone, virologist and inventor of the mRNA technology used in COVID vaccines)

The negative result of a PCR-RT or antigen molecular biology test will only be required for individuals who have not undergone a full vaccination cycle of two doses or a single application in the case of Belgian vaccine manufacturer Janssen, which is part of the U.S. multinational Johnson & Johnson.

The new rules apply to entry by air, land, and sea.

The National Health Inspectorate (Anvisa, regulatory agency) said that vaccination certificates issued exclusively by digital encoding would no longer be accepted, nor will the quarantine period established before the inter-ministerial decision.

URUGUAY

The government of Uruguay has decided to no longer require individuals who have been vaccinated against the disease to test negative for Covid 19 as a condition of entry.

The measure, approved by the country’s president, Luis Lacalle Pou, in the Council of Ministers and codified in a decree, responds to a new assessment of “the measures taken and the evolution of the pandemic that establishes the national health emergency” in Uruguay, according to the text of the law.

According to the decree, from now on, only those “who have not contracted covid-19 in the 10 to 90 days before embarkation or arrival in the country and who cannot prove that they have received the single dose or two doses” must present a negative result from a molecular PCR-RT or antigen test.

While these requirements do not apply to children under six years of age, those diagnosed with Covid-19 or who have had symptoms of the disease within seven days before entry will not be allowed to enter the South American country.

Vaccinated individuals who have not had recent symptoms are not required to undergo a coronavirus smear, but the requirement to wear a mask while traveling and upon entry or to purchase health insurance coverage upon entry and other formal pandemic-related requirements remain in effect.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES

However, recent developments in heavily vaccinated Denmark, New Zealand, and South Korea indicate an unprecedented increase in new infections and deaths among the doubly and triply vaccinated.

In light of this development, the measures taken by Uruguay and Brazil must be considered not only ineffective but counterproductive.

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