What has changed since the end of the emergency situation

18.06.2020 Aleksandr Lenkovskis, member of the board

Restrictions Remained

Despite the end of the emergency situation, restrictions on movement across the borders of Latvia have been established based on the new regulatory enactments, as well as the obligation to self-isolate in certain cases.

On June 10, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 360 “Epidemiological safety measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 infection” entered into force, which set restrictions on passenger transportation, tourism and travel, as well as in some cases impose an obligation to self-isolate upon arrival in Latvia.

Risk Countries

The Regulations state that the countries where the spread of the Covid-19 virus poses a serious threat to public health (hereinafter – the Risk Countries) are published in Latvian and English on the website of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Risk Countries are those marked in yellow and red on the website of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

At the time of this publication, the countries at risk are Sweden, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Belgium, as well as all countries outside the European Union (EU).

This list is updated every Friday.

Restrictions on the carriage of passengers, tourism and travel

In accordance with the requirements of the Regulations, international passenger transportation is not performed in Risk Countries. The above-mentioned rule does not apply to passenger transportation (maximum 5 people) by a private transport, airplanes and water vehicles, occasional passenger transportation in transit, transportation for the transfer of employees, as well as transportation by public transport.

The movement of persons and vehicles beyond the external borders of the European Union to Risk Countries (which, let’s recall, are currently some EU countries and all countries outside the EU) is also prohibited. The above-mentioned restriction does not also apply to:
• Latvian citizens and non-citizens (and their family members) whose permanent residence is abroad;
• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and permanent residents (and their family members) returning to their country of permanent residence, including Latvia;
• foreigners who transit through Latvia when returning to their country of origin;
• passenger and truck staff;
• seafarers going to or from the ship to work;
• the above-mentioned transportation passengers;
• foreigners whose entry into Latvia is necessary for the operation of a Latvian merchant (which must be approved by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency);
• diplomats and their family members.

Self-isolation obligation

According to the requirements of the Regulations, if a person was in one of the Risk Countries during the last 14 days before arrival in Latvia, then such person must observe the self-isolation regime for 14 days after arrival in Latvia: stay in a place of residence, do not put another person at risk and monitor the health condition.

There are a number of exceptions to this rule. In addition, this does not apply to passenger and freight transport workers, workers returning from business trips and foreigners whose entry into Latvia is necessary for the operation of a Latvian merchant (which must be approved by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency), provided that all the mentioned persons show no signs of infection.

The above-mentioned restrictions are not the only ones. The transition period, which began after the end of the emergency situation, requires a gradual change in regulatory enactments, with the aim of preventing the recurrence of the infection and restoring the country’s normal legal order to what it was before the beginning of the emergency situation.

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