Citizens of Cyprus, Sweden, and Lithuania can now enter Portugal without being obliged to follow quarantine rules upon their arrival, as the latter’s authorities have lifted such a measure for these three countries after estimating that they have recently reported fewer COVID-19 cases of infection.
Portugal’s government has updated the list of countries subject to quarantine rules based on their COVID-19 infection rate, according to data provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The list as it is will be valid until June 14, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to a statement published by the country’s government, Cyprus, Sweden, and Lithuania have recorded an incidence rate of COVID-19 infections of less than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two weeks.
The same announcement emphasizes that flights from South Africa, India, and Brazil would be permitted to operate for essential reasons; however, passengers arriving from these territories will be obliged to follow quarantine rules when entering Portugal.
In addition, Portugal’s government announced that essential travel would also be allowed from all countries that are considered safe, upon the recommendations of the European Union.
Citizens planning to travel to Portugal by air will be required to present a negative result of the Coronavirus test, not older than 72 hours, in order to be permitted to enter the country. If they do not comply with such a requirement, they risk facing a fine of between €500 to €2,000.
“The restrictive air traffic measures are equally applied to the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and crew of cruise ships in ports located in mainland national territory. These measures may be revised at any time, depending on the evolution of the epidemiological situation,” the statement reads.
Last month, authorities in Portugal opened their doors to travellers from the EU and several non-EU countries, including the United Kingdom ahead of the summer season.
Such a decision was announced by the country’s tourism website Visit Portugal, which clarified that all persons arriving from Britain must prove that they have tested negative upon their arrival.
The Coronavirus pandemic has, among others, caused a devastating situation for the Portuguese Air Transport (TAP) between March 19 and June 30.
In this regard, the European Commission previously approved financial support of €462 million for the airline, under the EU State aid rules, to help the airline recover from the damages caused by the virus.
Portugal is the 30th most affected country in the world by the virus. It has reported a total of 849,093 COVID-19 cases of infection and 17,025 deaths.