Albania Imposes Entry Travel Restrictions

TIRANA, August 30

Travelers visiting Albania will be subject to COVID-19 entry rules starting from 6 September. The decision has been announced by the Committee of Technical Experts on Monday following a decision to update the existing restrictions as well as to adopt the new entry restrictions. According to the committee, all travelers (transit included) must show proof of their COVID status through at least one of the requirements below:

Test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours before traveling to Albania (PCR test)
Test negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours prior departure to Albania (antigen test)
Show proof of COVID vaccination (vaccination certificate)
Proof of recovery from COVID-19

Children younger than six are exempt from the abovementioned requirements.
Albanian citizens residing in Albania who cannot provide one of the aforementioned documents upon entering the country are subject to a ten days quarantine. At the end of the self-isolation period, they must take a COVID-19 test.

Moreover, the committee decided to extend the nightly curfew by one hour to 23:59-06:00 starting Wednesday, September 1st.
Further on, the committee reminded that mask-wearing is compulsory in all indoor places frequented by the public. Despite the indoor mask mandate in place, places subject to this requirement failed to enforce it.

In the meantime, the committee pointed out that only people that will be traveling are going to be allowed within the premises of the airport. Failure to comply with the measures comes with a Lek 3,000 fine for first-time offenders, while repeat offenders will be fined Lek 5,000. On the other hand, commercial subjects that fail to enforce the safety protocols will be subject to Lek 100,000 – 700,000 fines.

Albania issues vaccination mandate for healthcare and education staff, and students

Authorities are now pushing harder on the campaign to inoculate as many people as possible against COVID-19 as the infection numbers show a new wave is already hitting the country. Thus, the Committee of Technical Experts announced that it will require all medical and education staff and students to be fully vaccinated by the end of September. Those who will comply with the requirement will have to submit periodic COVID-19 tests. Those who cannot receive the vaccine due to underlying medical conditions will be exempt from the requirement.

Source: Health Ministry

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