Travelers from 29 countries must quarantine on arrival from Monday
From Monday (September 14) travelers from most European countries will have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival to Estonia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. Norway was added to the list this week.
Upon arrival in Estonia, the restriction on freedom of movement will not apply to passengers from Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and the Vatican from next week.
If a country has a higher infection rate than an average of 16 new infections per 100,000 people over a two weeks period, than travelers from that country - or those that pass through it while traveling - will need to isolate for 14 days.
Below is a list of countries and their infection rates. Countries above 16 are in bold.
- Andorra 266.5
- Austria 59.7
- Belgium 47.1
- Bulgaria 24.1
- Spain 265.5
- The Netherlands 57.2
- Croatia 91.4
- Ireland 38.9
- Iceland 19.6
- Italy 31.9
- Greece 27.2
- Cyprus 4.1
- Lithuania 15.6
- Liechtenstein 7.8
- Luxembourg 88.8
- Latvia 4.3
- Malta 68.9
- Monaco 124
- Norway 23.3
- Poland 20.5
- Portugal 53.1
- France 140.6
- Sweden 22.7
- Romania 85.2
- Germany 20.9
- San Marino 72.6
- Slovakia 25.6
- Slovenia 30.4
- Finland 8.2
- Switzerland 55.0
- Denmark 39.6
- Czech Republic 85.6
- Hungary 49.2
- Vatican 0.0
- United Kingdom 41.7
* According to p 1 terts 3 of Government of the Republic Order No. 172, the restriction on the freedom of movement is not applied in case a country's number of positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants remains between 16 to 17.6 during a period of two weeks.
See the list and advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in English here.
Based on a recommendation from the Council of the European Union, Estonia can open its border to 11 countries outside the European Union which have a low infection rate.
Travelers from Australia, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay can enter Estonia and do not need to quarantine on arrival.
Starting from September 7, a two-week restriction on the freedom of movement applies to passengers arriving from Canada.
The foreign ministry updates its quarantine list every Friday afternoon and the restrictions come into effect the following Monday.
Due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against any non-essential international travel.
What does quarantine mean?
This means that within 14 calendar days of their arrival in Estonia, people must refrain from unnecessary contacts and can leave their place of residence or permanent accommodation only for seeing a doctor and shopping food, essentials and medicines, or in emergencies.
Coronavirus testing opportunity for people arriving to Estonia
From September 1, people returning to Estonia from COVID-19 risk countries will have the opportunity to be tested for coronavirus at the airport and port in order to shorten the 14-day restriction on the freedom of movement and allow them to return to work sooner.
Testing is free of charge for Estonian residents; foreigners can take the test at a cost of €67 and can pay on the spot by card.
Until the test results are known, one must be in complete self-isolation. In the case of a negative result, the person will be notified via text message, positive results will be communicated over the phone. The result will also be visible when entering the health information system with an ID card.
In the case of a negative test result, the person must stay in limited self-isolation for the first seven days following arrival to Estonia, i.e. the person can go to work and, for example, a shop, but unnecessary contacts must be avoided. The person should also keep their distance from others while at work.
A second test must be performed no earlier than seven days after the results of the first test, and if it is also negative, a person can resume their daily life.
This means that after two negative tests a person will not be subjected to the full 14-day period of restriction on the freedom of movement, which applies to everyone coming from high-risk countries who did not undergo testing.
More information about testing can be found here.
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Editor: Helen Wright