Covid-19, Education and Science, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Transport

The government today reviewed amendments to the Regulation on Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection.

Health Minister Ilze Vinkele (For Develompent/For) told the government that residents returning to Latvia from abroad would have to self-isolate for ten days. The current mandatory self-isolation period is fourteen days.

The fourteen-day self-isolation requirement will still apply to people who have contacted a Covid-19 positive person.

The fourteen-day self-isolation will also apply to persons working at healthcare institutions, social care institutions and educational institutions, who are in close contact with other people, for instance, physicians working with patients, or teachers working with students.

However, these people will also be allowed to take a Covid-19 test on the eighth day after arriving in Latvia from abroad. If they test negative for the virus, they will be allowed to return to work on the eleventh day after returning to Latvia. If they refuse to be tested, they will have to self-isolate for fourteen days.

Jurijs Perevoscikovs from the Center for Disease Prevention and Control informed the government about several studies, which had found that ten-day self-isolation period may be applied to those arriving in Latvia from other countries.