Latvia Facilitates Entry Restrictions for Romania, In Spite the Latter’s Low Vaccination Rates
The green list now consists of Romania and the Vatican only, and travellers from these two countries will be able to enter Latvia only with a pre-departure test and do not have to test upon arrival or quarantine.
The decision to add Romania to the green list has been taken after the country reported fewer cases of COVID-19 in recent days. Data by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that in the last 24 hours, Romania has recorded 851 new COVID-19 cases, which is several times lower compared to countries as France, where 79,567 new cases have been detected in the last 24 hours.
Yet, Romania has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates, with only 40.1 per cent of the population having been fully vaccinated so far. The sole country in the EU with a lower vaccination rate is Bulgaria, where only 27.1 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated.
Only this week, on December 21, AtoZSerwisPlus.ro reported that Cyprus had also facilitated entry restrictions for Romanians, as the same would no longer be obliged to undergo double testing upon reaching the country.
Updating the list of risk areas, the Latvian authorities have decided to keep unchanged the list of countries that represent a very high public health threat. Part of this list, for a fifth week in a row, remain South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique.
On the other hand, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, Germany and Russia are now also categorized as countries representing a particular epidemiological threat due to high levels of Omicron infection.
Since Friday, December 24, travellers from these countries have been obliged to present negative results of a COVID-19 taken before their trip to Latvia, regardless of their vaccination or recovery status. Accepted are only PCR and antigen tests, taken 72 and 48 hours in advance, respectively.
“Persons using an international carrier shall present a COVID-19 test result to the carrier. The test result shall be presented by a valid interoperable test certificate (in a paper format or on a smart device) or as a separate COVID-19 testing report. If the person cannot present a negative COVID-19 test result, the international carrier may deny boarding,” the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted, announcing the new decisions.
