Germany and Slovakia turn orange on Czech Covid-risk map, San Marino and Japan go green

As of today Germany, Slovakia, and Luxembourg will move to orange on the Czech Republic's color-coded Covid travel map which indicates a medium level of risk. San Marino and Japan will move to the green category, for which there are no travel obligations when returning to the Czech Republic, the Health Ministry announced in a press release.

The Azores will be worse off, and will shift to the red category of countries with a high risk of coronavirus infection.

Note that the colors on the travel map only concern what needs to be done on entering the Czech Republic. These countries may have there own restrictions on people arriving from the Czech Republic. Germany, though, recently eased restrictions on Czech arrivals.

The green category now includes Australia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, San Marino, South Korea, Malta, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, and Vatican City.

For orange or medium-risk countries, people need to fill out a locator form and provide an antigen test no more than 24 hours old or a PCR test no more than 72 hours old before departure. They do not have to take tests after arrival. People with vaccination certificates from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, or Croatia do not have to provide tests.

Czech and other EU citizens, family members with a residency permit and foreigners with residency permits do not need to take a test before arrival if they use their own transportation such as a car, but need to take an antigen or PCR test within five days of arrival unless they have a vaccination certificate.

The orange countries and regions currently are Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal including Madeira (but not the AzoreS), Romania, Slovakia, Germany, and the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands (but not the rest of Spain).

The red or high-risk category includes Andorra, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Azores.

After returning from these countries, people must fill out a locator form and provide a negative PCR test no more than 72 hours old or negative antigen test no more than 24 house old before departure and take another PCR test no later than five days after returning to the Czech Republic.

People with vaccination certificates from the previously mentioned list do not need to test or isolate. EU citizens, family members with a residency permit and foreigners with residency permits do not need to take a test before arrival if the come by individual transportation.

When returning from countries belonging to the dark red or very high-risk category, people have to fill out a locator form, provide a negative PCR test no more than 72 hours old before entering the Czech Republic and then take a PCR in the Czech Republic no earlier than the fifth day but no later than the 14th day after returning from the dark red country. Until then, the person must self-isolate. People must do so even if they have vaccination certificates. There are also no exceptions for arriving by personal transport.

Very high-risk countries include the UK, Albania, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine, and other countries not already mentioned.

The Ministry of Health has previously banned travel to countries where there is an extreme risk of spreading new mutations of coronavirus. These include Botswana, Brazil, India, South Africa, Colombia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Peru, Swaziland / Eswatini, Tanzania (including Zanzibar and Pemba), Zambia and Zimbabwe.