Sweden extends COVID-19 entry restrictions for travelers from China until February 18
The Swedish government had decided to extend travel restrictions for the coronavirus for travelers from the People’s Republic of China for another 20 days, until February 18, after an evaluation that remains worrying about the number of infections in this country.
The move has been announced through a joint statement by the Swedish Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs, which points out that the decision has been taken during a cabinet meeting on January 27. SchengenVisaInfo.com reports
According to this statement, travelers from China will continue to be subject to the requirement to show negative covid-19 test results upon arrival in Sweden, regardless of their vaccination status.
“The test requirement applies to adults and children over the age of 12 who are third-country nationals. There are certain exceptions to the test requirement that, for example, do not apply to people who have a residence permit in Sweden, who are permanent residents within the EU and EEA or who have urgent family reasons.”, explains the statement, while adding that Swedish citizens returning from China are not subject to these restrictions.
Sweden imposed coronavirus restrictions on arrivals from China on January 7, after first calling a meeting with the EU Council’s Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR) crisis management mechanism, to discuss possible measures, after taking over the presidency of the EU Council on January 1.
In the meeting, which was held on January 4, The EU decided to recommend all member states to reintroduce pre-departure covid-19 tests on travelers reaching Europe from China.
Sweden introduced covid-19 restrictions soon on January 7, while several other countries had already done so, before the recommendation from the EU, after the number of cases of infected people increased in China, when the country reopened its borders in early December 2022, after to have kept them closed for three years.
According to the Public Health Agency, the proof of negative results for travelers from China must be presented to border officials, otherwise the travelers will be turned away and not allowed to enter.
The document must be either in Swedish or English and must contain information about the type of test performed, test results, time of sampling, as well as the name and date of birth of the person tested as well as the name and contact details of the issuer of the certificate or the laboratory that performed the test.
The types of tests accepted as valid are antigen tests and PCR or other nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs).
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