Bulgarian Health Minister’s order on arrivals: Further details
From April 1 to May 15, everyone arriving in Bulgaria must present a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate or equivalent for vaccination against Covid-19, having undergone the disease, or a negative test, according to an order signed by Health Minister Assena Serbezova.
As of April 1, Bulgaria’s system of colour-coding foreign countries according to their Covid-19 situations is abolished.
People arriving in Bulgaria who do not present a Digital Covid Certificate or equivalent will be admitted to the country, but must go into 10-day quarantine.
This quarantine will be lifted if the person undergoes PCR or rapid antigen testing no earlier than 72 hours after arriving in the country and the result is negative.
According to Serbezova’s order, the quarantine is considered lifted at the point the negative result is entered in the national information system.
People arriving from Ukraine may be admitted to Bulgaria on the same conditions – a Digital Covid Certificate or equivalent for vaccination, having undergone the illness or a negative test result.
Those arriving from Ukraine who do not have such a document shall be examined, if possible, by border health control authorities with a rapid antigen test, or put into 10-day quarantine.
They may undergo a PCR or rapid antigen test no earlier than 72 hours after arriving in the country. If the result is negative, the quarantine is lifted at the point the negative result is entered in the national information system.
There are exemptions from the Digital Covid Certificate requirement.
These include drivers and staff of international passenger transport buses, drivers of international goods lorries, crews of vessels entering Bulgarian territory on official business and crew and maintenance teams of commercial aircraft.
Also exempted are frontier workers – people living in Bulgaria and travelling daily, or at least once a week, to another EU country, Turkey, Serbia or North Macedonia.
There is an exemption for pupils and students living in Greece, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia or Romania, as well as pupils and students living in Bulgaria and travelling to one of those countries. They must show a certificate from the respective educational institution.
The requirement also does not apply to those passing in transit through Bulgaria, provided they can prove they are in transit, and also does not apply to children up to the age of 12, the order says.
(Photo: Maya Dulgerova)
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