Editor’s Note — Coronavirus cases are in flux across the globe. Health officials caution that staying home is the best way to stem transmission until you’re fully vaccinated. Below is information on what to know if you still plan to travel, last updated on July 15.
(CNN) — If you’re planning a trip to Brazil, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.
The basics
Brazil has been one of the hardest hit countries by the pandemic. It holds the second highest death toll in the world, second only to the United States.
The Gamma Covid-19 variant spread rapidly across Brazil and then around the globe, and is thought to be more contagious.
What’s on offer
This is a bucket list destination — a country that really does have everything. Beachside Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s most beautiful cities, capital Brasilia is a whirl of modernist architecture, and Salvador is the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture. There are some of the best beaches on the planet, plus, of course, the main part of the Amazon rainforest — which visitors can help protect, by contributing toward the conservation economy.
Who can go
Almost everyone. Brazil’s government has been infamously relaxed about the pandemic — and that includes border control. Following a brief closure in 2020, the borders are now open, including to almost all tourists, for stays of up to 90 days.
British visitors are out of luck — Brazil has banned flights to and from the UK since the announcement of the Alpha variant of Covid-19 first detected in England — and nobody who has been in the UK in the past 14 days can go, other than residents, family members of Brazilian nationals, and some business travel.
Brazil has also banned flights coming from or transiting through India and South Africa.
What are the restrictions?
If flying, before boarding, all arrivals must present a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours, and a traveler’s health declaration form to their airline before boarding (the airline will distribute the form).
Land and sea borders are closed to non-residents, unless en route to fly home. In that case, travelers must get authorization in advance, present a note from their own embassy or consulate authorizing their crossing at the border, show the plane ticket and go straight to the airport.
There is no quarantine on arrival. Even quarantine for those with symptoms is voluntary.
What’s the Covid situation?
Dire. Throughout the pandemic, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has criticized the use of masks and threatened governors who adopt lockdown measures, and as of July 15 the country has had over 19 million cases, and over 537,000 deaths.
Hospitals have been struggling. Intubation, medication and oxygen have repeatedly run low at points during the pandemic.
Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state in the Amazon region, has been hit hard, with hospitals here running out of oxygen in January. The Gamma Covid variant is thought to have emerged here, after it had been thought that the area might even have been approaching herd immunity.
15.31% of Brazil’s population has been fully vaccinated as of July 15.
What can visitors expect?
The Brazilian government has done little to limit the spread nationally, but individual states have introduced measures. There have been local lockdown restrictions in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais all opposed by Bolsonaro but introduced by local authorities.
Restrictions continue to vary in each area.
In April, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro eased recent lockdowns. São Paulo authorities justified the reopening by pointing out that occupancy rates in intensive care units in the state fell from a crisis-level 90.5% to 88.6%.
The daily death rate fell from its peak of more than 4,000 in early April to 889 on May 10. It’s at 1,556 as of July 15.
Useful links
Our recent coverage
CNN’s Julia Buckley and Francesca Street