Montenegro to require vaccination record and negative COVID-19 test result for entry into the country
Montenegro will begin mandating that foreigners provide a negative COVID-19 test and a two-dose vaccination record for COVID-19 today in an effort to lower infection rates.
Montenegro’s new entry requirements follow President Milo Djukanovic’s positive COVID-19 test on December 23. Since the country’s vaccine roll-out in May, almost 50% of the population has been inoculated, though the country’s political leadership and its Orthodox-Catholic religious institutions have traditionally refrained from encouraging people to get vaccinated. With a population of 620,000, the official death toll is 374 per 100,000, making it the fourth-highestin the world.
Considering Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic’s lack of vaccination and continued religious skepticism, expect Montenegro’s COVID-19 case load to continue to rise. In the short-term, proof of vaccination for foreigners may temporarily curb the growing daily average infection rate, but will likely be ineffective in the long-term if political and religious indifference toward vaccinations continues.
Facing re-election in 2023, Krivokapic may increase protective domestic measures against COVID-19 to turn the country’s situation around and position himself for re-election. Expect Krivokapic to refrain from endorsing vaccinations unless religious skepticism wanes and begins swaying Montenegro toward inoculation, making it politically practical for Krivokapic to endorse vaccination as well.
Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.
