Portugal, France, Italy and Greece continue to record high infection rates, says ECDC

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) showed in its latest weekly report that cases of COVID-19 infection continue to remain high in some popular European destinations.

According to newly updated maps that were released today, April 21, Portugal, France, Italy and Greece continue to record high infection rates, reports SchengenVisaInfo.com.

Since the vaccine uptake-weighted 14-day notification rate per 100,000 population in these countries remains high, all countries mentioned above are currently colored dark red.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Portugal has reported 60,083 new cases of infection in the past seven days. During the same period, France recorded 624,536 new cases of infection, Italy recorded 353,193 new cases of infection and Greece recorded 56,361 new cases of infection.

It is believed that due to these figures, these countries have decided to keep their entry restrictions in place.

All travelers, regardless of their country of origin, are currently required to hold valid COVID-19 proof when arriving in Portugal, France, Italy and Greece.

The four countries mentioned above apply the same validity period to vaccination, recovery and test certificates. They accept vaccination certificates as long as the document proves that the holder has had the primary vaccination within the last nine months or received a booster shot.

On the other hand, certificates of recovery are only accepted on entry into one of these countries if the document indicates the holder recovered from the virus within the last six months.

As for COVID-19 tests, they generally accept PCR tests carried out within 72 hours before arrival and rapid antigen tests carried out within 48 hours before arrival.

>> Traveling to Europe in April: Current entry rules and other restrictions explained

Data provided by ECDC shows that a total of 891,278,234 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in EU/EEA countries so far. The same study further reveals that 72.6% of the EU/EEA population completed the primary vaccination and a further 53.1% received an additional dose of vaccine.

Earlier, the ECDC and EMA had concluded that it was too early to consider using a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The two agencies agreed that a fourth dose could be given to people over 80. However, it was emphasized that the fourth dose need not be given to those without serious health consequences.

It was noted that the revaccination campaign could start in the fall. Nevertheless, the authorities of each country will be able to choose the best moment for the additional doses.