As of Monday, people coming to Lithuania from the United Kingdom and Slovenia will have to self-isolate or get tested for Covid-19 before or after arriving in the country.
The country updated the self-isolation and testing requirement on Monday morning to include the whole of the United Kingdom, and not just England and Wales as was previously announced.
Lithuania has also banned flights from the UK amid fears of a mutated and more contagious strain of Covid-19 spreading in the country. Airlines have now also cancelled flights from Lithuania to the UK.
Lithuanian Transport Minister Marius Skuodis warned travellers that most routes from Britain have closed or will close soon. "Latvia and Estonia have also [banned flights from the UK] and decisions from Poland are also likely today," he told reporters.
"The same ban has come into force in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. France has suspended all connections with the UK for a period of 48 hours. So, even land travel is restricted," the minister said.
“First, people are barred from entering France. Second, ferry services to and from the Benelux countries are severely restricted, cancelled or will be suspended in the near future,” he said.
Lithuania is holding consultations with Germany and Poland on what requirements they are planning to apply to Lithuanian citizens and residents crossing their borders, according to the minister.
A meeting of EU crisis management experts is planned for Monday, to be followed by discussions at the political level, Skuodis said, adding that Lithuania will seek a coordinated EU-level response.
List of affected countries
Besides United Kingdom and Slovenia, the list of regions and countries placed under restrictions includes Liechtenstein and Switzerland, as well as all non-EU/EEA countries and territories. This week, Northern Ireland and Poland were removed from the list.
Read more: Travelling to or from Lithuania: what you need to know
Travellers from these countries must self-isolate for 10 days in Lithuania or present a negative coronavirus test taken within 48 hours of the arrival. Travellers can also take the test in Lithuania, but must remain in self-quarantine until the result is in. However, even if the result is negative, travellers are advised to avoid social contacts for 10 days
Lithuania has been labeled red in the European Union's traffic light system that categorises countries according to the risk of coronavirus infection. Therefore, only arrivals from or via countries in the grey area are subject to travel restrictions.
According to the Health Ministry, the testing an self-isolation requirements do not apply if the traveller only stayed in an airport transit area in the affected country.
Countries in Europe are marked as green, yellow and red based on their infection rates and other indicators. The grey group includes countries that have not provided the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control with data or those with 7-day testing rates lower than 300 per 100,000 people.
Foreign nationals and residents from countries outside of the European Union and the European Economic Area are banned from coming to Lithuania, with individual exceptions set by the government.
More information about travel restriction is available on the Health Ministry's website.
Read more: Lithuania imposes nationwide lockdown
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