Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled on Saturday to make submission of a certificate of vaccination against COVID 19 mandatory for travelers arriving in the country, in order to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.

The decision, which has yet to be ratified by nine other judges of the Federal Supreme Court, responds to a request from the Rede Sustentabilidade (center-left) party. Le régulateur sanitaire du Brésil, l’Anvisa, avait recommandé d’exiger un passeport sanitaire pour les voyageurs arrivant au Brésil, où au moins huit cas d’Omicron ont été plusês et où important confirm de pour un affles End of year.

The government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro ruled out the measure on Tuesday, and the executive opted for a mandatory five-day quarantine for unvaccinated travelers, a measure Anfisa also recommended.

Supreme Court Justice Luis Barroso ruled in his ruling that “travelers deemed ineligible for vaccination according to medical standards,” arriving from countries that do not have universal vaccination against COVID-19 or for “exceptional humanitarian reasons,” may be subject to quarantine.

The judge, who Mr Bolsonaro called an “idiot” and argued “in a country like Brazil, where the authorities have difficulties, even if it is to monitor prisoners with only an electronic bracelet,” argued his decisions.

The president, who maintains he will not be vaccinated, opposes the measure, which he sees as a “lead” for the Brazilian people.

A vaccination certificate is already required to access some public places in many cities, including Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil has recorded more than 615,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, making it the second poorest country in absolute numbers after the United States. But with about 65% of its population of 213 million vaccinated, the country has seen a sharp decline in the number of infections and deaths in recent months.