Covid-19 travel: Canary Islands and Madeira turn red on Czech map, Austria closes borders

Madeira and the Canary Islands will move from medium-risk orange to high-risk red on the latest Covid-19 travel map, the Czech Health Ministry has announced. Travelers without proof of vaccination or recovery coming to the Czech Republic from these countries will face tightened restrictions as of Monday.

Also from Monday, Czech neighbor Austria has announced it will be closing its borders to tourist travel due to a recent surge in Covid-19 cases. The travel ban will last a minimum of 10 days, and a maximum of 20.

Other countries have also changed color on the new Czech travel map, but travel conditions for them will not be affected.

The Czech Health Ministry updates its travel map every week based on data provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

From Monday, the Vatican will be the only European state listed as low-risk green. Outside of Europe, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Chile, South Korea, Jordan, Canada, Qatar, Colombia, Kuwait, Macao, Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Uruguay are all listed as green.

France, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, Spain and the Azores will all be considered medium-risk orange as of Monday.

When arriving from green and orange countries, travelers without proof of vaccination or recovery must either provide a negative Covid-19 test before entering the Czech Republic, or take an antigen or PCR test within five days of their arrival.

Finland, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, the Canary and Balearic Islands and Madeira will all be considered high-risk red as of Monday.

Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Andorra will move to the dark red category from Monday, indicating a very high risk of infection. They join Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia and all non-EU countries not listed as low-risk green.

Travelers without proof of vaccination or recovery arriving from red or dark red countries must take a PCR test between 5-14 days after their arrival. Those using public transport (including airlines) must also provide a negative test before entering the Czech Republic.

Testing requirements do not apply to those who have completed their Covid-19 vaccination, or have a certificate proving that they recovered from Covid-19 in the past 180 days.

All travelers must fill in an arrival form when entering the Czech Republic, regardless of their vaccination status or the color of country they are coming from. 

The Czech Republic accepts the vaccination of those from non-EU countries who were given vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, or corresponding vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation for emergency use.