Increasing coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic are likely to result in Norway applying travel restrictions to the country this week.

The move was signalled on Monday by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), which published similar notifications in July before restrictions were applied to travellers from Spain and Belgium.

Norway’s health authorities designated EEA and Schengen countries as ‘green’ or ‘red’ depending on current infection rates. To remain ‘green’, the figure must be under 20 infections per 100,000 residents in total over the past two weeks.

Once a country is ‘red’, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel that is not strictly necessary to that country, and self-quarantine is required for travellers returning or arriving from it. This also means people cannot travel from ‘red’ countries to Norway for tourism.

NIPH said on Monday that it would recommend travel advisories for the Czech Republic to be changed to ‘red’ at the next update scheduled for later this week, unless any change in the situation occurs in the meantime.

The final decision on travel advice is taken by the government based on NIPH assessments.

The Czech Republic has exceeded the 20 per 100,000 resident infections threshold, resulting in the Norwegian public health authority’s forthcoming recommendation.

“New figures show that the Czech Republic is at 26.8 new Covid-19 infections per 100,000 residents for the last 14 days, and the trend is increasing. We are therefore now notifying that, unless the situation changes, NIPH will recommend that the Czech Republic become ‘red’ country and thereby encompassed by quarantine rules,” NIPH head of department Line Vold said in the statement.

Updated quarantine rules and travel advice normally comes into effect at midnight on Friday.

 

 

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The Slovenian government has reinstated the Czech Republic, with the exception of the Moravian-Silesian region, on the green list of epidemiologically safe countries, with the decision taking effect on Tuesday.

In announcing the news, the government’s Communication Office said the decision was made following a briefing on the situation of Covid-19 in the two countries by the National Institute of Public Health.

The Czech Republic was placed on the so-called yellow list with Croatia on Saturday. The Moravian-Silesian region in the east of the Czech Republic remains on the yellow list.

???? Slovinsko vrací ČR od 7. 7. zpět na seznam bezpečných zemí, výjimkou je Moravskoslezský kraj. Doporučujeme mít s sebou čestné prohlášení o tom, že cestující nepobýval v uplynulých 14ti dnech v Moravskoslezském kraji. ℹ️ Vzor čestného prohlášení ➡ https://t.co/IZvKoB71EI

— MZV ČR (@mzvcr) July 7, 2020

Slovenian citizens and foreigners residing permanently or temporarily in Slovenia from members of the EU yellow zone or the Schengen area are not quarantined under certain conditions.

This includes proving that they own property or a vessel there, or producing an original accommodation invoice.

If they are unable to prove this, they are considered to be arriving in Slovenia from a high-risk country and subject to a two-week quarantine.

Slovenian citizens and foreigners with permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia from members of the EU green list or the Schengen area are not quarantined.

Persons who have a temporary or permanent residence in these countries are free to enter Slovenia without any restrictions or quarantine either.