Through the most recent update regarding the Coronavirus situation of countries within the EU, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has revealed that the spread of the COVID-19 and its variants continue to be just as prevalent, though, in some particular areas, the situation is improving compared to the beginning of August.
In line with the figures published by ECDD on September 9, only the following three countries and four regions, which have detected less than 50 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the last 14 days, are currently placed in the green category:
Czechia
Hungary
Poland
Region of Italy: Aosta
Region of Romania: Transylvania
Regions of Slovakia: Prešov and Košice
Consequently, this means that travel to these countries/regions is safe. In addition, in general, travellers from these countries and regions reaching the other EU Member States should not be subject to any entry restrictions. Still, it is up to each Member State to decide on its rules, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
On the other hand, more regions have been moved to the orange category compared to last week’s update since their COVID-19 situation has slightly improved.
Sweden is one of the countries that last week was mostly red, but since it has been registering fewer infection cases, the whole country is now coloured orange.
According to the updated maps of September 9, the following countries and regions are now part of the orange category:
Canary Islands
Denmark
Finland
Latvia
Madeira
Malta
Sweden
Half of Italy
Half of Norway
Regions of Austria: Carinthia, Styria, Lower Austria, Burgenland, Tyrol
Regions of France: Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
Region of Spain: Asturias
Romania, except for Transylvania
Travel to and from any of the above-mentioned countries and regions is not discouraged. However, unvaccinated and unrecovered travelleres may be subject to strict entry restrictions, and those who are vaccinated may be required to undergo testing requirements, depending on the rules of each country.
In contrast, ECDC has suggested that strict rules should apply to all areas placed in the red category since they have registered more than 200 Coronavirus infection cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the last two weeks.
Countries that have been listed as red on this week’s map are as follows:
Greece
Bulgaria
Liechtenstein
Spain
Portugal
Ireland
Iceland
Netherlands
Belgium
Estonia
Lithuania
Cyprus
Slovenia
Regions of Norway
The Member States are advised to impose pre-departure test and self-isolation requirements against all persons arriving from the countries listed above.
“This should also apply to essential travellers provided that this does not have a disproportionate impact on the exercise of their function or need. Transport workers, however, should in principle be exempted from testing and quarantine/self-isolation requirements,” the EU Commission has advised.
