Netherlands To No Longer Require Quarantine from US Visitors and Other “High Risk” Countries

Netherlands To No Longer Require Quarantine from US Visitors and Other "High Risk" Countries

The Netherlands has had the United States and several other non-European Union countries on its “very high risk” list related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that had meant that visitors from there had to be fully vaccinated, provide a recent negative COVID-19 test result and participate in a 10-day quarantine. The latter requirement is being removed on Wednesday.

Amongst the dozens of other countries on that list are the United Kingdom, Israel, Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil. Meanwhile, the list of “safe” countries, places from which visitors do not need to be vaccinated, includes Australia, Canada, South Korea and Ukraine.

The requirement for visitors from non-EU countries on the “high risk” and “very high risk” lists to quarantine upon arrival in the Netherlands will have only been in place for a short time before being retracted. It went into effect on Sept. 4.

Dutch flag

In most cases, the full vaccination process needs to have ended at least two weeks prior to the traveler heading to the Netherlands. The one exception applies to those who received their lone Johnson & Johnson shot after Aug. 14; they will need to have received that at least 28 days prior to their trip.

As for the required negative COVID-19 test result that must be shown upon arrival, the associated test must have been taken within 48 hours of departing for the trip if a PCR test was taken or within 24 hours of departure if an antigen test was taken instead.

Children 17 years of age or younger do not need to be vaccinated as long as they are traveling with at least one fully vaccinated parent or guardian. Children between the ages of 12 and 17 need to have had a recent negative COVID-19 test result, however.

The rules for travelers from other EU countries are different. For example, individuals from “high risk” or “very high risk” intra-EU countries do not need to be vaccinated. A recent negative COVID-19 test result will suffice for them.

The Netherlands has experienced 12 confirmed positive COVID-19 test results per 100,000 people over the past week. The corresponding figure in the U.S. is 45. However, the death rate is significantly lower in the Netherlands: 0.04 per 100,000 people versus 0.6 in the U.S.