Last Updated on 2020-08-27 by Birk Karsten Ecke
Latvia has a rigid policy towards foreigners since the outbreak of COVID-19. There has never been a social lock down in this country like in Germany, but the small Baltic country has been largely free of the virus since March 2020 through border closings and operating bans for the Riga airport and a temporary ban on cross-border traffic. The number of cases of COVID-19 has therefore so far been limited. For people entering Latvia, the rule is that no more than 16 cases per 100,000 inhabitants may be infected in the country of origin. Germany exceeded this threshold with 16.3 per 100,000 inhabitants last Friday.
The strategy of the Latvian government to keep travelers from CORONA strongholds away from their country is openly working. There is a list of the SPKC (SLIMĪBU PROFILAKSES UN KONTROLES CENTRS) The number of cases in Latvia is at a low level. The SPKC does not recommend traveling to the countries marked in red. The countries marked in yellow should only be visited in urgent cases. For both “red” and “yellow” countries, there is a 14-day quarantine requirement when traveling to Latvia from these countries. The yellow marked now also includes Germany, the red marked Austria and Switzerland. Please take a look at https://www.spkc.gov.lv/lv/valstu-saslimstibas-raditaji-ar-covid-19-0. This list is updated every Friday at noon. Tourist trips to Latvia have thus become practically impossible from the three above-mentioned countries.
Image: The Central Market in Rīga.
Recorded in October 2014.
Double click on the image to enlarge.
External Links
Latvian Center for Disease Control and Prevention (lv)
https://www.spkc.gov.lv/lv/valstu-saslimstibas-raditaji-ar-covid-19-0