Mauritius welcomes fully vaccinated travellers

There are 14 ‘resort bubbles’ across the island

Mauritius has opened its borders to fully vaccinated tourists – although visitors will not be permitted to leave their hotel for the first two weeks.

From 15 July until 30 September, as part of the first phase of its reopening, the Indian Ocean holiday island will welcome fully vaccinated visitors only to one of 14 “resort bubbles”.

Those who are unjabbed can still enter Mauritius, but must quarantine in a hotel for two weeks.

Holidaymakers must remain in their hotel bubble, and take PCR tests throughout their stay: on arrival at the airport, and on days seven and 14. They also must present a negative PCR test on arrival, taken between five and seven days before departure.

The rules for vaccinated travellers apply to those over the age of 18, but those under the age bracket must take the necessary PCR tests – including babies and infants.

Guests who stay for less than two weeks can leave the resort and fly straight home.

Phase two, which begins in October, will allow vaccinated travellers to enter Mauritius with no need to stay in their resort bubble; they must simply present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours.

The move follows a fast vaccine roll-out in Mauritius, which heavily depends on the income from international tourism. All tourism workers and hotel staff have been vaccinated.

As of 6 July, the island has had just under 2,000 cases in total, and has administered almost 620,000 vaccinations.

“The safety and security of Mauritian citizens, residents, and those visiting the island is paramount and we are grateful to those who have cooperated throughout the pandemic to make this possible,” said Hon. Steven Obeegadoo, deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius and minister of tourism.

“The acceleration of our vaccination programme has enabled us to partially reopen our borders and we look forward to fully opening our borders in October.”