With the epidemiological situation in the continent of Europe starting to worsen, many European Union and Schengen Area countries are already tightening their entry restrictions in a bid to control the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yesterday, Estonia announced that four EU countries had been added to its red list – Norway, Bulgaria, San Marino, and Slovenia. This means that all unvaccinated travellers reaching Estonia from one of these countries or other areas that are already part of the red list must follow a mandatory ten-day quarantine requirement, with the possibility to shorten it.
In contrast, the self-isolation rule does not apply to those who have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved for use by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Denmark has also moved several EU regions to the orange category and has decided to tighten the entry rules for several third countries. Consequently, it has been announced that unvaccinated and unrecovered travellers arriving from Croatia and regions of Austria, Italy, Norway, and Sweden must undergo COVID-19 testing before entry.
Moreover, non-essential travel from the US, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia has been banned as the countries have exceeded the established COVID-19 infection criteria.
Similarly, Czechia has tightened rules for several EU countries. Based on the decision announced by the country’s Ministry of Health, unvaccinated/unrecovered travellers arriving from the Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Slovenia, and Ireland are now obliged to undergo COVID-19 testing if they used public transport to get there.
Additionally, they are required to complete an Arrival Form, go into self-isolation, and take a second COVID-19 test after the fifth day of quarantine.
Furthermore, in line with the most recent update from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany has published a new list of countries considered as high-risk areas. Through this list, it has been announced that travellers from Albania, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Japan, the Palestinian territories, Serbia, and Sri Lanka, who are eligible to enter Germany, will not be permitted entry if they do not hold a vaccination certificate or a negative test result.
Following the example of other EU countries, Sweden also reintroduced an entry ban for visitors from the US, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Only those reaching Sweden for absolutely necessary reasons will be allowed entry. However, it has been emphasised that the country plans to exempt vaccinated travellers from the entry ban.
Moreover, the Finnish authorities have revealed that since September 6, unvaccinated travellers arriving from Australia, Brunei, and Ukraine are no longer permitted entry to the country since these areas have been registering increased COVID-19 infection rates.
Additionally, in line with the latest recommendation from the Council of the European Union, several EU/Schengen Area countries have decided to apply stricter rules against those arriving from the US. Nonetheless, there are still some countries, such as Ireland, Croatia, and Greece, who refuse to impose restrictions against US travellers.
In contrast to the countries mentioned above, Portugal has decided to ease its restrictions for those arriving from the UK and Brazil. As a result, travellers from the UK are no longer required to follow quarantine rules when entering Portugal, whereas those from Brazil can now travel without having an essential purpose.
