COVID-19 testing to be mandatory on entry to Czech Republic from Germany, Sweden as of Monday

Prague, Nov 13 (CTK) - Germany, Sweden and Cyprus will turn red on the Czech COVID-19 travel risk traffic light map as of Monday, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček has tweeted.

The change means COVID-19 testing will be required for Czech residents returning home as well as foreigners arriving in the Czech Republic from these countries as of Monday.

Until now, these states have been orange on the map, which indicates a moderate risk of infection. A negative COVID-19 test is required only from foreigners arriving from orange countries for long-term work in the Czech Republic.

The Foreign Ministry and the Health Ministry have not yet released a complete updated travel map, and it is not yet clear whether the level of risk will also change in other countries.

Foreign trips without a COVID-19 test are permitted if they last a maximum of 12 hours.

Petříček said this period might be extended to 24 hours for urgent travel as of Tuesday, if the cabinet approves it.

On the travel risk traffic light map, a country is listed in green if it has seen fewer than 25 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two weeks, and if its share of positive cases among the tested samples is below 4 percent.

Since last Monday, the criteria for being green has been met only by Vatican City out of all European states.

Infection risk will be considered medium-sized (orange) in countries where the share of positive tests exceeds 4 percent and the number of new COVID-19 cases does is below 250 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks.

Upon arrival from orange countries to the Czech Republic, a negative COVID-19 is only required from foreign workers, except for cross-border commuters.

From Monday, the orange group should be comprised of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Greece.

Countries with both a proportion of positive coronavirus tests above 4 percent, and more than 250 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks will be considered a high risk of infection (red).

Travelers from red countries must undergo a COVID-19 test when travelling to the Czech Republic, whether they are residents returning to the country or visiting foreigners.

A form for the public health center must also be filled in. There are exemptions for cross-border commuters and students regularly travelling between countries.