Covid-19: Bulgaria adds UK, Cyprus and Spain to red zones
Bulgaria’s caretaker Health Minister Stoicho Katsarov issued an order on July 16 updating the colour-coding of foreign countries according to their Covid-19 situations.
The classification of a country determines whether arrivals from it are allowed, and the conditions for admission.
The rules for arrivals, according to the colour-coding of a country, may be found in English at this link. Katsarov’s new order takes effect on July 19.
Added to the red zone list, from which arrivals in Bulgaria are not allowed, are the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Spain, Fiji and Kuwait.
The other red zone countries are India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar (Burma), Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania, Seychelles, Namibia, Zambia, Tunisia, Oman, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Surinam, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Cuba and Dominican Republic.
The green zone countries are Austria, Germany, Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, France, Norway, San Marino, Monaco, Vatican City State, Switzerland and Czech Republic.
If a country is neither classified as a green zone or a red zone, it is regarded as an orange zone.
Arrivals from Russia and Portugal will be admitted to Bulgaria on presentation of a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate for testing or a similar document showing a negative result from a PCR test conducted up to 72 hours before entry into the country, starting from the date of sampling, entered in the document.
Citizens and permanent residents of Bulgaria and members of their families arriving from those two countries who do not present such documentation will have to go into 10-day quarantine. This quarantine may be lifted by the regional health inspectorate after the result of a negative PCR test done within 24 hours of entry is e-mailed to the inspectorate.
Katsarov’s order also says that children up to 12 years of age arriving from a country that is a green or orange zone do not need to submit Covid-19 documentation.
(Photo of Sofia Airport: Interior Ministry press centre)
For the rest of The Sofia Globe’s continuing coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria, please click here.
The Sofia Globe’s coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria is supported by the Embassies of Switzerland and Finland.
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