Czechia Adds Hungary, Sweden and Madeira to List of Countries Profoundly Affected by COVID-19
Citizens of Hungary, Sweden, and the autonomous region of Portugal – Madeira, now will have to fill the Arrival Form and present a negative result of the COVID-19 test when planning to enter the Czech Republic as the latter has added these countries to the dark red category, in which are placed countries profoundly affected by the pandemic.
According to Czechia’s Ministry of Health announcement, based on the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) data, Finland and Monaco will move to the red category of countries, while Portugal will move to the orange, AtoZSerwisPlus.Pl reports.
These new changes will take effect from March 15, the ministry has clarified.
Persons who belong to the dark red category will be obliged to prove that they tested negative for the virus. The test result should not be older than 72 hours. After five days, they will be required to undergo a second PCR test in the Czech Republic. In the meantime, they must stay self-isolated until they receive the result of the second test.
Currently, in the dark red category are listed European Union Member States as well as third countries, which do not belong to any other groups of countries. This category includes all territories that have registered a very high number of infections in the past two weeks.
After a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections, Czechia has placed Finland and Monaco in the red group of countries as well.
At present, this group includes Andorra, Bulgaria, Belgium, France (non-overseas), Italy, Ireland, Cyprus, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Latvia, the Netherlands (non-overseas), Austria, Poland, Romania, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Canary Islands Spain.
Citizens seeking to enter Czechia from any of the countries mentioned above will be required to present a negative result of the antigen not older than 24 hours or PCR test(not older than 72 hours and fill the arrival form upon their arrival.
They must undergo a second COVID-19 test five days after arriving in the Czech Republic and stay quarantined until they receive the test result.
Rules of Entry for Arrivals From Orange & Green Areas
The orange category, besides Portugal, includes Denmark, the Azores, Norway, and the new Balearic Islands.
Travelers returning to the Czech Republic from the orange category of countries will be required to fill the arrival form and present a negative result of the antigen or PCR test upon their arrival.
Students, as well as employees who belong to the dark red, red, or orange groups, are obliged to present a negative result of the Coronavirus test to their schools in which they are pursuing their studies or the employer.
Countries grouped in the Czechia green category are not required to follow the rules mentioned above, as these territories are considered to have a low number of COVID-19 infection cases.
At present, this category includes Iceland, non-EU countries, the Vatican City State, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand.
“Given the emergence of new mutations in COVID-19 and community-wide spread across Europe, the ECDC recommends that all persons postpone travel unless absolutely necessary,” the Czech Republic Ministry of Health’s statement reads.
On February 26, Czechia’s Ministry of Health banned travel to the countries where the transmission of new variants of COVID-19 is rapidly spreading. This travel ban includes Botswana, Swaziland, Brazil, South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Based on statistics published by Worldometers, the Czech Republic has registered 1,399,078 cases of COVID-19 infection since the beginning of the pandemic, and 23,226 persons have died.
The same source reveals that a total of 1,209,799 persons have been recovered from the deadly virus in Czechia, up to this point, while there are over 166,050 active cases registered.
