Most travel-related quarantine rules to expire on Feb. 25; Test obligation may remain

People who travel to the Netherlands from any region designated as being a “very high-risk area” due to coronavirus will not necessarily have to quarantine from February 25, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Currently, this includes countries where a variant of concern is present, and where there is either a high number of coronavirus infections, or where authorities have not provided a clear picture about the situation.

Negative antigen or PCR coronavirus tests will still be required of all travelers going to the Netherlands from outside the European Union. Anyone arriving from inside the EU will also be able to use their coronavirus access pass.

There are 40 countries on the current list of very high-risk areas, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The list currently includes the United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, Turkey, Suriname and the United Kingdom. As of last week, people traveling from these countries could avoid the quarantine obligation if they already received a Covid-19 vaccine booster.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry also confirmed that the coronavirus situation in a region will no longer be a sole determining factor in the travel advice to that area.

The Netherlands uses four alert levels for its risk assessments of foreign regions, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red, from least to most severe. Starting on Wednesday, it will begin the process of reassessing each country based on all factors. “This will be done, in part, on the basis of advice from Dutch embassies and consulates worldwide. All safety and health risks are taken into account, including coronavirus,” the ministry said.

Many countries will quickly be reduced from the Orange level. Countries outside of the European Union and Schengen Zone will return to their color codes before the coronavirus pandemic if the security situation there warrants it. “The exception is countries where a new, worrying virus variant appears. In that case, a country is still automatically color coded orange,” the ministry said. This means only urgently necessary trips should be taken.

“Travelers will again be required to quarantine when they return from such a country.“

It was not immediately clear how many countries would shift from Orange to a less strict situation, but De Telegraaf reported earlier in that day that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could immediately place 30 popular destinations on Yellow. Some countries will keep code orange status if they are not welcoming visitors, like New Zealand, the newspaper said. Strict rules about travel will be kept in place there, with only certain groups such as students or military personnel welcome.

Throughout the pandemic, travel advice has been closely tied to coronavirus figures, with only necessary trips encouraged. The Netherlands has been using a color-coding system to categorize countries for their travel advice; last summer the Orange code for the EU was reduced to Yellow, meaning more leisure travel could resume.

The advice not to travel outside the EU has been ignored by many travelers and even travel organizations. Holiday companies still ran trips to countries like Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Mexico.