Estonia is on 1 June opening its borders to the passengers arriving from European countries – the country will admit people with no coronavirus symptoms arriving from the European Union, the Schengen area and the United Kingdom; asymptomatic passengers arriving from 24 European countries will not need to stay in quarantine.
According to the Estonian government’s decision on 29 May, passengers can come to Estonia without having to remain in quarantine from Austria, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Croatia, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Latvia, Norway, Poland, France, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Hungary, if they have spent at least 14 days in any of these countries before coming to Estonia.
The citizens of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Malta and Spain can also enter Estonia, but they will have to stay in quarantine for 14 days.
“We are taking it one step at a time when it comes to lifting travel restrictions,” the Estonian foreign minister, Urmas Reinsalu, said. “We can currently open Estonia to Europe. It is difficult to predict now when we can welcome people from across the world again because everything depends on developments in the spread of the virus.”
The list revisited every Friday
The compulsory quarantine for people arriving in Estonia depends on whether the relative coronavirus infection rate in their country of origin is above 15. This means that 15 or less people per 100,000 inhabitants can be infected in the passenger’s country of origin in the past 14 days. Anyone arriving in Estonia from a country with a higher infection rate must self-isolate for two weeks on arrival, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The Estonian government is still conducting border checks and people entering the country will be notified if they will have to stay in quarantine.
The opening of Estonia’s borders does not mean the Estonian citizens and residents can travel to these countries yet.
Estonia will every Friday revisit the list of the countries to whom the country’s borders are open.Estonia ended the emergency at midnight 17 May, but keeps some restrictions in effect.
Estonia ended the emergency at midnight 17 May, but keeps some restrictions in effect.
For the latest developments in Estonia, follow our special blog on coronavirus. Read also: The Baltic Bubble – 15 unique places to visit in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.
Cover: Soomaa National Park in Estonia. Photo by Sven Zacek.
