SUVA, April 29: Effective on May 1, all fully vaccinated visitors to Fiji will no longer be required to produce a pre-arrival negative COVID-19 test prior to entry, a move that reduces costs and lends greater convenience to those traveling to the country, a Fijian government statement said Friday.

The change applies to all visitors entering Fiji by air or sea who were previously required to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or rapid antigen test (RAT) prior to their arrival to Fiji.

The Fijian government said that this step is in line with best practice for entry requirements among highly vaccinated societies and follows countries such as Australia and Singapore who have also removed COVID-19 testing as an entry prerequisite.

The requirement to book an in-country pre-COVID RAT test, prior to departing for Fiji remains. The test must be done within 48-72 hours of arrival.

Commencing May 1, the vaccination requirement for entry into Fiji has also been widened. All visitors above the age of 16 years must now display proof of full COVID-19 vaccination prior to entering the country.

The lowering of the age requirement for the vaccine prerequisite comes as more children globally are granted access to vaccines.

Fiji’s key visitor markets have considerably high coverage of vaccination among those below the 18-year age threshold.

The Fijian government said that requiring that all tourists aged 16 years and above provide proof of vaccination prior to visits to Fiji further reduces the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 and allows Fiji to capture a greater percentage of the fully vaccinated tourism market.

All other existing conditions for entry remain applicable.

These moves follow Fiji’s continued effort to strengthen its in-country testing program and wider community surveillance efforts designed to ensure the safety of visitors and Fijians alike.

The COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce will continue to review Fiji’s entry requirements and COVID-19 safe measures, with a focus on strengthening community surveillance and the robustness of the in-country testing digital platform, supplemented by the already high vaccination rates.

There have been no admissions of COVID-19 positive people to hospitals or deaths in the last four days even though there have been 21 new cases recorded this week, according to Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong in the latest update.