Maltese Already Abroad Without Vaccine Certificate Can Return With Negative PCR Test, Charmaine Gauci Confirms
Any Maltese citizen who was already abroad when a change in travel regulations was announced last week will be able to return with a negative PCR test, provided they can prove their flights were already booked before the announcement.
The development follows a controversial change in regulations announced on Friday which effectively bans anyone without a vaccine certificate from travelling to the island as of Wednesday.
Yesterday, former Nationalist Party MEP candidate Peter Agius urged the government to exempt Maltese expats from the new regulations.
He urged the government to facilitate ‘family reunions’ and to differentiate between tourists and those travelling to Malta to visit family.
In correspondence with Agius, Superintendent for Public Health Charmaine Gauci said that Malta “will be allowing Maltese citizens who are already abroad with booked dates for return to come with a negative PCR and without need for quarantine”.
Malta has seen a surge in cases in recent days as tourism to the island has started to pick up in recent days forcing authorities to announce new restrictive measures.
From the 14th July, the country will only accept travellers who have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine recognised by the European Medicines Agency – ie. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna or Johnson and Johnson. Moreover, only vaccines that were administered by an EU member state or the United Kingdom will be deemed valid.
Exceptions will be given to people who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons and are granted an exemption by the Superintendence of Public Health, Maltese residents who travelled overseas before the new rules were announced and children aged between 5 and 12, who can’t yet get vaccinated in Malta.
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