Quarantine to be dropped for travellers after booster vaccine

People travelling to the Netherlands from very high-risk countries will no longer have to quarantine from February 2 if they have had their coronavirus booster vaccine.

The rules apply to travellers from countries including the USA, Canada, Australia and Britain, provided they received their booster at least seven days before travelling.

They must still fill in a quarantine declaration form and show their proof of vaccination before entering the country, the Dutch government said on its website.

Travellers who are unvaccinated or have only had two vaccine doses will still have to spend 10 days in quarantine unless they are exempted for other reasons, such as people travelling for work, essential family visits or funerals.

The government also plans to change the law so that vaccine certificates expire 9 months after the second vaccination, to bring the Netherlands into line with other EU countries. The time limit would apply to coronavirus entry passes for venues such as restaurants, theatres and museums, but also travel between Schengen countries.

Booster vaccines will not expire after 9 months, while the validity of certificates for people who have recovered from infection will be cut from a year to six months.

The new rules will come into effect from February 1, if parliament approves the change.