Traveling fully vaccinated? Seychelles will waive your quarantine requirement

Looking for another reason to celebrate your COVID-immunity? Seychelles announcing that fully vaccinated travelers would be permitted to bypass mandatory quarantine.

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"We hope that this [updated advisory] will open up the tourism industry for the locals, primarily for the small hotels who are struggling... And also provide the kick that our economy desperately needs,” Minister of Tourism Sylvestre Radegonde stated on the nation's official website.

Related: Here's what the COVID-19 vaccine could mean for your travel plans

Effective immediately, visitors worldwide can provide the following documents in order to enter the Seychelles and bypass quarantine requirements:

— An authenticated certificate stating that the traveler received both doses of the four current approved vaccines: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen. The traveler's second vaccine must have been administered at least two weeks prior to arrival.

— A negative PCR test result taken less than 72 hours prior to travel

Travelers must continue to follow all other protocols including prior approval for health travel authorization; obeying all airline and airport guidelines during travel; and only booking accommodations from government-sanctioned properties.

Related:

• Where can you go right now? A country-by-country guide to reopening
• Travelers will soon need a negative COVID test to enter the US
• New CDC testing policy could have a 'chilling' effect on international travel
• Traveling soon? Here's where you can get a PCR test

As with many other island nations, Seychelles has maintained relatively strict entrance requirements to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The country previously closed its borders to travelers from many countries that had high COVID-19 infection rates, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

However, Seychelles officials estimate that 70 percent of the local population will have received the novel coronavirus vaccine by mid-March, thus achieving herd immunity. Once this milestone is reached, incoming travelers will only be required to produce a negative PCR test upon arrival. Essential workers, including tourism workers, receive first priority for the vaccine.

As of Jan. 21, nearly 2,000 locals have received their first dose of the vaccine. The Seychelles immunization program debuted five days prior. Thus far, none have experienced major adverse reactions from the vaccine, according to local health officials.

The United Arab Emirates government donated 50,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine to the Seychelles, which will cover 25,000 individuals.