Travel restrictions for a limited number of parts of Europe will be relaxed on Saturday, according to travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Travelers returning to the Netherlands from Finland, from the Portuguese mainland and certain Spanish and Greek islands no longer need to be quarantined. They also no longer need to be tested for corona when they return. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the areas in question no longer qualify as “covid high-risk areas”.
These include the Spanish islands of Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Lesbos and Kos. Even after a stay in mainland Portugal and the Azores, the quarantine obligation expires. There was already no obligation to test for travelers returning from Portugal.
All rules will still apply to the Portuguese island of Madeira, as well as to mainland Spain and Greece. However, there are still restrictions on travel from the Netherlands to all the countries mentioned and the whole of Europe will remain on an orange travel advice until at least 15 May. That means that the advice remains: only necessary trips.
Code orange has consequences for travel insurance, among other things. Medical expenses and other expenses not related to corona will be reimbursed as usual, but this does not apply to costs that are related to corona, such as costs due to admission to a hospital or a compulsory stay in a hotel.
Director Frank Oostdam of travel umbrella ANVR says that in practice nothing will change for the time being, but still sees it as a hopeful sign. Chances are that at the next cabinet press conference on 11 May, the negative travel advice for these areas will go off first.
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