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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 23:57

14-day self-isolation mandatory for arrivals to Latvia from 6 EEA and EU member states

BC, Riga, 26.06.2020.Print version
Travelers arriving in Latvia from six countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and European Union (EU) - Sweden, Portugal, the UK, Romania, Bulgaria and Luxembourg - are required to spend 14 days in self-isolation, according to the data from the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, writes LETA.

Those who are planning trips to the aforementioned countries will have to spend 14 days in self-isolation upon return to Latvia. The requirement also applies to those traveling in transit, namely, if the person has traveled through these countries or spent time at their airports.


The self-isolation requirement does not apply to arrivals from countries where the 14-day cumulative number of Covid-19 cases does not exceed 15 per 100,000 population.


Latvia currently has the second lowest Covid-19 incidence in the EU and the EEA as its 14-day cumulative number of Covid-19 cases is 0.9. The same incidence has been recorded also in Hungary, and only Liechtenstein has managed to achieve a zero incidence. 


The two other Baltic states have also seen their Covid-19 rates drop in the past couple of weeks. In Estonia the figure is down to 1.4 cases per 100,000 population and Lithuania' s 14-day cumulative number of Covid-19 cases is 2 per 100,000 population. On June 19, Lithuania had 3.6 cases and Estonia 6.6 cases per 100,000 population.


Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases continue to surge at the fastest rate in Sweden which has recorded 154.5 cases per 100,000 population, much more than in any other EEA or EU country. 


Portugal follows with 44.2 cases per 100,000 population.


Given the circumstances, the Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the Health Ministry still do not recommend travel outside Latvia.


Based on the coronavirus infection rate, starting from Monday, June 29, a two-week self-isolation requirement applies to people arriving in Estonia from Sweden, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Romania, Bulgaria and Luxembourg. 


According to the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, starting from next week, self-isolation is not compulsory for passengers arriving from Austria, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Croatia, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Norway, Poland, France, Malta, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Switzerland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Hungary, if they have spent at least 14 days in these countries shortly before coming to Estonia. Compulsory self-isolation still applies to those arriving from the rest of the world.


Information about countries and requirements is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://vm.ee/en/information-countries-and-quarantine-requirements-passengers.


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also updated the recommendations in the Reisi Targalt (Travel Wisely) web environment. With regard to the spread of the coronavirus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges that travel be avoided, except to European countries where there have been 15 or fewer infected people per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days and that are on the list of countries from which people arriving in Estonia are not required to self-isolate.







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