Eight southern African countries remain on the "red list" of countries deemed to have a very high level of epidemiological risk, and – slightly confusingly – the eight European countries for which special entry requirements were announced earlier this week are also colored red without being included alongside the African countries on the "very high risk" list.
The classification system rates travel to each country as low (green), high (yellow), or very high risk (red).
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eswatini (still often known as Swaziland in the English-speaking world), Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique are still on the red list for a fifth week in a row. Even though most of the eight listed African countries have infection rates well below Latvia's, fears about the spread of a new Covid variant (dubbed 'Omicron' by the World Health Organization) have prompted the special measures.
As previously reported by LSM, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, Germany and Russia are now also rated as presenting a particular epidemiological threat due to high levels of Omicron infection and all arrivals from these countries (Latvian nationals included) must have Covid tests prior to arrival if coming by carrier (e.g. airline) or within 24 hours of arrival if coming via private means (e.g. private car).
The epidemiological requirements based upon the lists come into force at midnight, i.e. 00:00 on Saturday, December 25.
The latest list of countries, their current travel status, and the necessary epidemiological measures that apply is available HERE in Latvian, English and Russian and is also attached to this story in English, in PDF form for your convenience.
More details on travel requirements, including the mandatory travel form to fill in prior to arrival in Latvia, are available at https://covidpass.lv/en/.
For other information about Covid-related questions in Latvia see the official website.
