India, Tunisia, and other countries to be removed from extreme-risk category on Czech travel map

Prague, Aug 16 (ČTK) - Tunisia, Russia, and India are among the states the Czech Republic will remove from its list of the countries posing an extreme risk of Covid infection as of August 23, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch said following a cabinet meeting Monday.

No reason was given for the upcoming change. The health minister added that seven states, mainly South American ones, will remain on the list.

The Czech Health Ministry strongly discourages travel to those states classified as "extreme infection risk." The ministry has included on its list a number of countries where the spread of new coronavirus mutations is prevalent.

That list will still include Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Nepal, Mozambique, and Tanzania (including the Zanzibar and Pemba islands), Vojtěch said at yesterday's press briefing.

Additional countries that figure on the extreme infection risk list will be removed from the list and restrictions will be lifted for those arriving from these countries as of next Monday, Vojtěch said.

Those countries are Botswana, Eswatini, South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Czech Covid-risk traveler's map, updated by the ministry every Friday, illustrates the countries of the world in terms of the level of the coronavirus risk they pose to travelers. The updated map goes into effect every Monday. Individual categories of countries imply measures for those arriving in the Czech Republic.

The map is regularly updated based on the data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Upon return from countries with an extreme risk of infection, self-quarantine is not required from fully vaccinated travelers and those who have had Covid-19 in the past 180 days. Others must be tested for Covid before entering the country and stay in self-quarantine for ten days following arrival, with a negative PCR test at the end of the quarantine period.