The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has placed Albania on Level 1, meaning citizens who are fully vaccinated can travel to the country.
It was US Ambassador to Albania, Yuri Kim, who confirmed the recent development in a Twitter post.
As of June 7, 🇺🇸 CDC has upgraded Albania to “Level 1: Low Level of COVID-19”. This is good news for Americans who wish to travel to Albania for fun or business. See attached for CDC recommendations. https://t.co/wi94ojlNMR
— Ambassador Yuri Kim (@USAmbAlbania) June 8, 2021
Citizens that are fully vaccinated will not be required to self-isolate after their arrival in the US, but only present e negative COVID-19 test taken over the last 72 hours.
The Albanian economy relies heavily on tourism, which was one of the worst struck sectors due to pandemic-related restrictions imposed across the world.
In 2020, the number of tourists declined by about 60%, compared to the same period in 2019.
In May, the Albanian government decided to allocate an extra €820.000 to promote the country as “COVID-free”, amid declining infection rates.
Over the past weeks, Albania has seen a significant drop in both fatalities and infections, while authorities pursued a fast vaccination campaign, relying mainly on China’s Sinovac, and a government contract with Pfizer/BioNTech.
So far, over 132.000 citizens have tested positive for COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic, with the virus claiming a reported 2.452 lives.
