Brazil Judge Moves to Require Proof of Vaccination From Foreign Travelers

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge ruled on Saturday that all travelers arriving in Brazil should show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

Luis Roberto Barroso made the decision, Al Jazeera reported. The said ruling was seen as another defeat for Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, who undermined efforts to control the spread of the virus and repeatedly shunned mandatory immunization against COVID-19, according to BBC.

Brazil to Demand Vaccine Proof Among Foreign Travelers

Luis Roberto Barroso's decision needs to be reviewed by all 11 judges in the Supreme Court next week. The said ruling invalidates the regulations previously issued by Brazil's national health agency. Under the said directive, only a negative PCR test result must be provided by foreign travelers to enter Brazil.

"The threat of promoting anti-vaccine tourism, due to the imprecision of the regulations that require the voucher, represents an imminent risk," Barroso said in the ruling on a petition filed by the Sustainability Network party.

According to Barroso, exceptions would be granted to foreign travelers from countries that had not been able to vaccinate most of their populations or where no vaccines are available.

Proof of vaccination could also be waived for individuals prevented from vaccination due to health reasons. But these travelers will be required to quarantine on arrival for five days.

Brazil Protocol for Foreign Travelers

The ruling came days after Brazil's federal government announced that foreign travelers would only have to quarantine for five days. But the government pushed back the said protocol, which was announced last Tuesday, due to a hacking incident on the Health Ministry on Friday.

The federal government's decision, which Health Minister Marcelo Quiroga announced last Tuesday, sparked anger from several politicians, The Guardian reported.

Leftist politician Monica Francisco, who supports tighter rules to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, blasted the decision of Brazil's government.

"This government has the policies, the face and the stench of DEATH," Francisco tweeted.

The said decision not to demand proof of immunization contradicted the advice of Brazil's health regulator, Anvisa, that has been pushing for such measures since last month.

An analysis from the health regulator revealed that not requiring vaccination could make Brazil into one of the countries of choice for unvaccinated travelers.

Last week, Bolsonaro falsely claimed that those who backed the use of vaccine passports like Anvisa wanted to restrict the freedom of the public.

"Where is our freedom? I'd rather die than lose my freedom," the Brazilian president noted.

To date, more than 616,000 people from Brazil died due to COVID-19. The country was marked second in countries with the most deaths due to the notorious disease. The South American nation's seven-day average of death is reportedly 200 per day.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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