Those who come from countries where a mutated strain of COVID has been identified will need to be screened.

Those from Denmark, Spain, Italy, the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden should be examined, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

Persons arriving from these countries must have a laboratory test and a negative response within 48 hours or register for such a test within 24 hours of arrival.

Until a negative response to the test is obtained, the person will be required to isolate himself.

According to the ministry, this preventive measure will be temporarily introduced until the mutated strain of coronavirus detected in animal farms is examined by experts and its threat to human health is assessed.

The ministry also announced that Slovakia had been removed from the list of affected countries.

“When Lithuania enters the red zone, only the countries and regions in the gray zone are considered affected countries: Northern Ireland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, as well as all third countries,” announces the ministry.

Isolation or testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) infection is required upon arrival in affected countries.

Depending on morbidity and other indicators, foreign countries are divided into green, yellow and red zones. Countries that do not provide data to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control or that carry out 300 or fewer tests per 100,000 animals in 7 days the population falls in the gray area.

Currently, the countries in the gray area are included in the list of countries affected by Lithuania. Persons arriving or passing through these countries are considered to have been in contact and are subject to 10 days of isolation or are required to be present no earlier than 48 hours in advance. The COVID-19 test was carried out before arrival in Lithuania and the negative answer was received.

Third countries (countries outside the European Economic Area) that are not included in the maps of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control are also included in the gray area.

Persons traveling by air passing through the affected countries without leaving the airport transit area will not be considered to have had contact.

Travelers on scheduled, special and charter flights organized and operated by carriers in all modes of transport must register on the website of the National Center for Public Health (NVSC) and provide the airline with a confirmation of the completed electronic form (QR code) before boarding, otherwise you must register with NVSC no later than 12 hours after the time of return or arrival in Lithuania

The list of affected countries is published every Friday and goes into effect on Monday.