Brazil’s supreme court has ruled that foreign travelers must show proof of vaccination against the coronavirus to enter the country — a blow to President Jair Bolsonaro, who is unvaccinated and has repeatedly rejected requests to impose a vaccine mandate in a country that has the world’s second highest death toll after the United States.

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       Justice Luís Roberto Barroso cited “the threat of [current policies] promoting anti-vaccine tourism” as grounds for the ruling Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

       It is not clear when the new requirements will be implemented. Barroso’s ruling will be reviewed next week by the 10 other judges who make up Brazil’s highest court, according to Al Jazeera.

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       Barroso did grant exceptions for travelers from countries without widespread vaccine access and those with waivers for health problems. They must instead quarantine for five days.

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       But the decision poses a direct challenge to Bolsonaro, who has derided vaccine mandates as an attack on personal freedoms as part of his broader disinformation campaigns against the severity of the coronavirus. Bolsonaro has repeatedly rejected a vaccination requirement for international travelers, even though such a mandate is backed by Brazil’s health agency, Anvisa.

       The latest ruling supersedes a Nov. 30 mandate by the federal government that foreign travelers must present only a negative PCR test result and, if unvaccinated, quarantine for five days. Shortly afterward, Brazil’s Sustainability Network party filed a challenge to the high court.

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       In his ruling, Barroso said the federal government’s proposal “represents an imminent risk” to Brazilians because ensuring that unvaccinated travelers quarantine as required poses a challenge.

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       Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in Brazil are already being scaled back. Some venues have canceled events due to uncertainty over the omicron variant, BBC reported.

       Coronavirus cases and deaths have been declining in Brazil, where about 85 percent of adults are fully vaccinated, according to Reuters. An average of about 200 people died of covid-19 per day in the past week, down from nearly 3,000 in April.

       Brazil has suffered more than 600,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, but Bolsonaro remains one of the world’s most coronavirus-skeptical leaders. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus last year and recovered.

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       In September, Bolsonaro spoke before the U.N. General Assembly in New York, in apparent violation of a requirement that all attendees be vaccinated. The rule is based on an honor system, as the international body has no enforcement mechanism.

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       Bolsonaro was later pictured eating pizza on the street outside a parlor in New York, which requires proof of vaccination for anyone entering restaurants and other venues.

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