Foreign, and at a later stage also Dutch, travelers who come from corona risk areas will soon have to show a negative test result upon arrival in our country. This so-called non-Covid statement must be issued no more than 48 hours before arrival. Minister De Jonge of Health writes this in a letter to the House of Representatives.
For travelers from outside the EU, it Schengen area and the United Kingdom wants De Jonge to take that measure into effect in mid-December. In order for it to also apply to travelers from countries with open borders, the law must first be amended. De Jonge hopes that he will be able to impose a negative obligation of proof on them from next spring.
Advice from OMT: negative test result for all travelers
The OMT previously advised exploring the possibility of requiring a negative test result upon entry to the Netherlands for all travelers (both returning Dutch nationals and foreign visitors to the Netherlands) from orange or red areas.
According to the minister, travel poses a risk of spreading and importing the corona virus. This has been underlined by the experiences of returning winter sports enthusiasts in February and March and by holidaymakers during the summer holidays. That is why he thinks it is very important to take steps to make travel safer.
Travel advisories
Until mid-January, the advice is not to travel abroad. Even after mid-January, the travel advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will remain the starting point. If a country has an 'orange' travel advice, it is recommended to undertake only necessary trips. Vacations are not necessary trips. This necessary traffic entails risks. The risk of infection in COVID-19 risk areas is also increased during a necessary trip. That is why De Jonge wants to take steps to make necessary travel from COVID-19 risk areas safer: requesting a negative test statement and testing travelers five days after arrival in the Netherlands.
He wants to oblige travelers arriving in the Netherlands from a covid risk area to be able to show a negative test result that has been issued no more than 48 hours before arrival. At the moment, there are limited legal options to require a so-called non-Covid statement. The minister wants to amend the law for this. This is not expected to be implemented until spring 2021.
Exception from the EU entry ban for certain third-country nationals
For certain third-country nationals (residents from outside the EU/Schengen and the United Kingdom who are exempt from the EU entry ban), the negative test statement can be required without a change in the law on the basis of the Schengen Borders Code and the EU entry ban. For these travelers, the minister wants to introduce this in the short term, he aims for mid-December.
Role for airlines
In addition, De Jonge, together with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry of Justice and Security and airlines, is investigating whether they also want to voluntarily introduce the negative test statement on (some of their) flights for residents of the EU.
According to him, the introduction of a negative test statement cannot completely prevent infected travelers from COVID-19 risk areas from entering the Netherlands. After all, a traveler can be infected after the test has been taken, or so shortly before the test that it is still unreliable. Therefore, these travelers still have to go into home quarantine.
To this end, the minister wants to investigate the possibility of offering these travelers the opportunity to have themselves tested five days after arrival from mid-January. In case of a negative test, the quarantine can then be ended.
Source: Letter to parliament on the state of affairs COVID-19 (central government)
