Authorities in Iceland and Slovenia have dropped Covid-19 entry restrictions on travellers.

Before today (February 25), Iceland required all arrivals to be fully vaccinated and present a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of arrival, or provide proof of recovery from Covid within 180 days.

The UK Foreign Office advice for Iceland has been updated to say: “All Covid-19 related travel restrictions for Iceland have now been removed from February 25, 2022. Domestic restrictions have also been removed.”

Tourist board Visit Iceland confirmed restrictions have been removed for both vaccinated and unvaccinated arrivals and that “travellers no longer have to provide proof of vaccination or prior infection, and there are no restrictions on social gatherings or quarantine requirements for those infected by Covid-19”.

Health minister Willum Þór Þórsson said: “We can truly rejoice at this turning-point, but nonetheless I encourage people to be careful, practice personal infection prevention measures and not to interact with others if they notice symptoms.”

About 81% of Iceland’s eligible population have been fully vaccinated and boosters and vaccinations have been offered to 5-11-year-olds.

Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, head of Visit Iceland, added: “Icelandic authorities have taken a measured approach to Covid-19 throughout the pandemic under the advisement of medical experts and scientists. I feel confident that our revised protocols are a reasoned step in the right direction. We look forward to welcome visitors and share all the wonders that Iceland has to offer.”

Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2CityBreaks – which offer flights and packages from 10 UK airports – said: “This is an enormous step towards normality for international travel as it represents a country saying that travel is back to how it looked before the pandemic.

“We applaud the Icelandic government for leading the way when it comes to reopening international travel and we are confident that other nations will follow suit.

“We are already seeing very strong demand for flights and trips to Iceland and we expect that demand to step up even further following this extremely positive news.”

Meanwhile, a statement from the Slovenian Tourist Board said: “There are no longer any Covid-19 restrictions for entry to Slovenia.

“The recovered/vaccinated/tested condition has been removed, making Slovenia an accessible, attractive destination for UK and Ireland travellers looking to experience incredible scenery, farm-to-fork cuisine, historic architecture, hiking trails, and much more.”

Travellers will still need to fill out a Passenger Locator Form before visiting Slovenia and face coverings are required in certain public spaces.

Elsewhere, Poland said it will be lifting many domestic Covid restrictions from March 1, but will continue with mandatory face coverings indoors and isolation rules.