Slovakia Makes Quarantine Obligatory Even for Travellers Vaccinated Against COVID-19
All persons returning from abroad will be obliged to quarantine when entering Slovakia, even those who have taken the second dose of the vaccine, the country’s Interior Ministry has announced through a statement.
According to the announcement, all persons returning from abroad will be required to register at the e-border, which keeps the data of the countries and areas travelers have visited before entering Slovakia, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
Persons will be permitted to undergo a PCR test after remaining self-isolated for eight days. They will be able to leave quarantine if they receive a negative result of the COVID-19 test.
“This step was taken due to the spread of new mutations. Therefore, it is a precautionary measure: knowledge about new variants of the virus concerning possible reinfection or infection after vaccination is still being summarized on an ongoing basis,” the statement reads.
It further clarifies that the “abolition of the exemption for vaccinated persons and persons who have overcome Covid-19 is part of an effort to reduce the risk of spreading new variants of the virus to the general population.”
However, there will be exemptions regarding the recently imposed preventive measure.
According to the announcement, health professionals who enter Slovakia from abroad to provide urgent health care will not have to follow quarantine rules upon the country’s Health Ministry’s approval.
Slovakia has registered 349,270 Coronavirus cases of the infection since the virus started to attack countries worldwide widely.
Based on Worldometers statistics, more than 9,100 persons have died while 255,300 have totally recovered. The country now counts over 84,860 active cases.
The figures published above have pushed Slovakian authorities to restrict unnecessary travel to foreign countries from March 20 in order to contain the spread of the virus. The decision was confirmed by the country’s Interior Ministry.
The same Ministry revealed that such preventive measures would be effective until April 28, and it could be lifted earlier by Slovakia’s government if other countries report a decrease in the number of COVID-19 infections.
Slovakia’s government previously revealed on February 17, citizens of all countries wishing to reach Slovakia by air or land must first stay self-isolated for two weeks. However, the government clarified that they could leave quarantine if they are tested for COVID-19 and result negative.
Slovakia’s government previously extended the required quarantine period for all travelers planning to enter the country from territories profoundly affected by the virus, from ten days to two weeks.
