Israel and 40 US states have been added to Malta’s amber list, meaning that travellers arriving in Malta from there will not have to quarantine.

Travellers would still have to present a negative PCR swab test which is taken not more than 72 hours before arriving in the country or, in the case of Maltese travellers, a vaccine certificate.

It’s the first update to the travel list since last April, when the UK was added to the amber list as well.

The 40 US states on the amber list are: Washington, Oregon, Louisiana, Arizona, West Virginia, Colorado, North Dakota, Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, North  Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio,  South  Carolina,  New  Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Maine, South Dakota, Michigan, Illinois, Delaware, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New  Jersey,  Minnesota,  Connecticut, Alaska,  New  Hampshire, Maryland,  New  York, Rhode   Island, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Vermont, California.

Other countries, such as Serbia and North Macedonia – which were the subject of a petition for inclusion in recent weeks – were not included in the latest update, however they were included in a list of countries where a vaccine certificate issued by the Maltese authorities will be deemed as valid for entry to Malta and for avoiding mandatory quarantine.

That list is: Belarus, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bhutan, Fiji, Jamaica, Georgia, Faroe Islands, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Vietnam, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Panama, Qatar, Cuba, Russia, Serbia, Taiwan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan  and Saudi Arabia.

Persons who are in possession of a vaccination certificate issued by the Maltese health authorities may travel to Malta from any of these aforementioned countries.

Travel from countries on Malta’s red list is not allowed unless the traveller has spent at least the previous 14 days in an amber list country or unless special permission from the superintendence of public health has been obtained.

The country's full travel list can be found here.