Chile will stop requiring COVID-19 vaccination or a negative PCR for foreigners entering the country

Chilean health authorities announced on Tuesday that starting next Thursday it will no longer be essential to vaccinate against covid-19 or carry out a PCR test for foreigners entering the country.

This was confirmed by the Undersecretary of Public Health, Cristóbal Cuadrado, who explained that those who do not have their complete and approved vaccination schedule will be able to enter Chile, but they will not have a mandatory card to carry out some activities such as entering bars and restaurants, cinemas or gyms.

Nor will pre-flight testing be mandatory, he added, although “non-resident tourists may be subjected to a random examination upon arrival in the country” and will need to fill out a form.

With 3.5 million infected and 57,094 total deaths, Chile is one of the countries with the greatest restrictions to stop the pandemic and the most demanding protocols for the entry of travelers.

Last Sunday, the total opening of land borders was also announced as of May, since until now it was only possible to enter the country through international airports and some concrete steps.

The possibility of removing masks outdoors will also enter into force this week in 14 of the country's 16 regions, including the Metropolitan Region, which houses the capital and where almost 8 of the 19 million inhabitants live.

The mask will continue to be mandatory in the regions of Arica and Tarapacá, in the far north, as well as in some isolated cities or territories such as Easter Island, 3,000 kilometers away in the Pacific.

All these advances could be reversed depending on the epidemiological situation, according to the plan stipulated by the Government.

The pandemic has been receding for weeks after the peak caused by the contagious omicron variant in February, which raised daily infections to almost 40,000 infections.

In the last 24 hours, there were only 1,478 new cases, 13 deaths and a national positivity rate - which months ago was around 30% - of 4%, while in the capital region it fell to 3.5%.

Patients in intensive care units have also started to decline, going from 1,000 to less than 500 in the last few days, most of whom do not have the full vaccination schedule.

In parallel, Chile has carried out one of the most successful inoculation processes in the world, reaching more than 83% of the population with two doses and almost 14 of the country's 19 million inhabitants with an additional injection.

(With information from EFE)

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