Qatar World Cup 2022: Negative Covid tests no longer required
Spectators at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will no longer have to show a negative Covid test to enter the country, Qatar's public health ministry announced Wednesday.
The new changes to Covid tests no longer being compulsory will take effect on 1 November, which is 20 days before the start of the FIFA World Cup.
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According to the public health ministry statement, citizens and residents of Qatar are no longer required to take a rapid antigen test or PCR test within 24 hours following arrival in Qatar. Visitors are also no longer required to present a negative Covid-19 PCR or rapid antigen test result before travelling to Qatar.
Spectators are still urged to follow standard precautionary measures to reduce the risk of Covid infection.
This update comes just one month after it was announced that spectators in Qatar would not be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, but would have had to present a negative test to fly to the country, the government and the Supreme Organising Committee said.
"People arriving in Qatar are not required to quarantine, regardless of their vaccination status or their country of origin," the organisers added.
Qatar, the first Muslim-majority country to host the tournament, expects 1.2 million visitors for the 20 November - 18 December event, and has been rolling out announcements in recent weeks.
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