Germany has now removed quarantine for fully vaccinated Covid-recovered Indians travelling to the country in a new development. There is no quarantine for Indians vaccinated with the locally made Covishield vaccine.
People vaccinated with both doses of the World Health Organization-approved vaccine, Covishield, will not have to face quarantine after they arrive in Germany. The same rule applies to those who can demonstrate that they have recovered from Covid-19 infection.
Another European Union state, Iceland, is reopening its visa centres in India. Singapore will also allow Indian workers to enter in small numbers. Norway, India’s Nordic partner, has reopened visa centres for students.
Read More: Stuck in India Due To Covid-19, 73 Healthcare Workers Are Back In UAE Now
Eligible travellers from India can transit via Frankfurt to other Schengen states. Germany has eased five countries’ travel rules- India, Russia, the UK, Portugal and Nepal. Among 11 EU countries that have approved Covishield is Germany.
Authorities in Iceland have decided to reopen their visa application centres located in Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi; therefore, Indians who wish to travel to Iceland this summer are now eligible for visas.
People arriving in Germany earlier had to quarantine themselves for 14 days irrespective of their personal Covid status. Only German citizens or residents had permission to travel from the affected countries.
Singapore, meanwhile, will permit Indian migrant workers to enter on a “small scale” and in a “calibrated manner” this month. This will happen through a pilot programme led by the construction, marine and process sectors.
Singapore’s trade and industry minister Gan Kim Yong said last month that Singapore would soon allow more foreign domestic helpers to enter so that “immense pressures” faced by companies since the start of the ongoing pandemic can be eased.
Earlier this week, Singapore health minister Ong Ye Kung spoke in Parliament and dismissed “false” statements regarding free trade agreements and the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.
“We must always be a big-hearted people, even while we grapple with the significant challenges of globalisation to forge the best path forward for Singapore,” the minister was quoted as saying in Parliament.