A mess with travelers’ self-isolation: some are allowed to work, others are punished for going to the store

“Is it possible to fly to Lithuania and somehow avoid isolation? Perhaps you can lie to something or go unnoticed?” Asks a businesswoman, at least it is written on her Facebook. Of the dozens of inquiries I have received recently on my social media questionnaires, I understand that there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of Lithuanians who have deliberately lied and circumvented self-isolation. In fact, it was quite straightforward, I have already written on Delfi Travels how some travelers bravely lied, hiding the real addresses of their travels. In National Public Health Center (NVSC) questionnaires, which have long been mandatory for all returnees, they wrote about a state from which there is no need to isolate themselves upon return. This was especially easy to do if I was traveling with a transfer in Riga, Frankfurt, Istanbul or anywhere else Well, the questionnaires were quite “liquid” at first, where many people he wrote down facts that did not correspond to reality, and in Lithuanian airports he did not bother anyone. I know stories where people didn’t write their names, fake addresses, fake phone numbers.

Now that the situation has changed, everyone must isolate themselves. And the NVSC questionnaires and their verification finally seem much more serious. You even have to enter your personal code there, which was not the case at first. Please understand: there is much less chance that any malicious returnee will enter the country without restrictions. And that means don’t spread, don’t spread, God, take the virus with you.

In addition, the completed Lithuanian questionnaire is currently required to be displayed at the airports from which passengers fly to Lithuania. This means that without showing it, you should not get on the plane. Many countries around the world currently require this of visitors.

I will try to explain to you how is the inspection in Lithuanian airports at the moment and what rules apply to returnees. I also want to share my impressions on how I handled my self-isolation, which lasted only one week. According to current instructions from the Minister of Health, this is possible.

After arriving from anywhere in the world, both Vilnius and other Lithuanian cities, returnees are checked by NVSC people at airports. She is no longer an aunt with a scanner, as she used to be, but a huge commission sitting on the tables. This check-in is done just before leaving the airport, when travelers have already taken their luggage.

All the passengers stop in a long, slow queue. In it, in fact, people do not keep much distance, they line up next to each other. Many are in a hurry to leave the airport as soon as possible because they have been greeted by relatives or taxi drivers are waiting impatiently for them. So those who stand in line complain loudly that they don’t have much time, that they want to move faster and the like. Well, complaints don’t help much. In turn, the order is monitored by uniformed border guards who tell them to follow the order and wait.

When you finally have your turn, you must present an identity document to the NVSC officer, as well as show the QR code of the completed form, which you scan. A COVID-19 test is also mandatory at 48 hours. in the period before arrival in Lithuania or after arrival in the country. If he has done so, he must also present the official with a document certifying the results of his investigation; otherwise it will be registered for investigation in the near future. Apparently, saving their money, many travelers return without doing the tests, because in foreign countries they would have to pay for them, and in Lithuania they receive it for free.

During the inspection, NVSC officers enter all the information you provide into a computer and log it into their system, which is then received by the Lithuanian police.

Only people who have already had coronavirus and received both vaccines against this terrible disease are released from isolation. Only documents confirming these facts must be presented at the border. If you don’t have them because you have been sick at home, you will still need to be isolated. Unless you do an antibody test that confirms your words.

Information and attitudes are constantly changing, so it is advisable to ask about your specific case in more detail as soon as you return. If you are not at the airport, call the coronavirus 1808 hotline or online. After all, returnees from different countries are subject to different requirements, and some self-isolating people can take a walk around their home. It’s not a bad hobby, given the rest: you have to sit between the four walls all the time.

Or another cool thing that you haven’t heard before, if you meet certain points, you may be allowed to go to work. No matter how strange it may sound, it allows you to go to work during self-isolation. Only on the condition that your route is home-work-home, without supermarkets, without family visits. I wonder what happens if a self-employed person returning from a trip works in a large supermarket, like a cashier. Can you go to work?

Here is a specific case, after returning from Vilnius after a trip, a Vilnius girl receives a guarantee from an NVSC official that she can leave her place of isolation at any time for work reasons. She does, but it is at that moment that a police officer calls her to check that the traveler follows the home regime. Upon hearing that the lady went to work, the officer records the violation. The girl asks him not to do this because there is no rape. The official promises to find out with the NVSC. How it all ended: the girl I mentioned doesn’t know. Called to the hotline, she was once again reassured that she could work in isolation. Unfortunately, only the police don’t know.

When the rules often change in this way, what was expected happened: a “broken phone” between health officials and the police. Here is another example.
Under the new regime, self-isolation is no longer mandatory for 14 days after travel, but only for an additional 10-day period. What to do? At least on the seventh day of isolation, at your expense, after a coronavirus test (PCR) and a negative result. If you get one, please, your isolation is complete.

But at least last week, the capital’s police, including the officer who called me, didn’t know. “Hello, here are the police, are we checking if you are in isolation?” He asks. I assure you that I am at home and I offer to say hello through the window as if to prove it. I know the police have asked many of my well-known travelers. “You should not say hello, I am in the commission. But maybe tomorrow we will come to check it,” says the official with the pleasant voice. “How is that?”, I ask him and I tell him that only tomorrow is 7 days and that I will travel to do an exam. “But I have been told that you will have isolation for 14 days,” he says. I suggest that the officer read the latest regulations from the Minister of Health, the policeman agrees that he must. Our conversation ends, tomorrow’s arrive, I get a negative test, but I don’t know if I can really walk through the door of the house.

If travelers honestly meet all the requirements, they are currently the most tested and healthiest part of our society. Two tests from each returnee, a serious guarantee that a person is not sick. You can read all the latest requirements here: https://nvsc.lrv.lt/lt/informacija-visuomenei-apie-covid-19/grizusiems-atvykusiems-is-uzsienio-1/iki-28

I was surprised that people with coronavirus must do less than those who travel. At the moment, two of my friends who are not traveling anywhere are sick, they have been infected in Vilnius by something. Last Saturday some tests were carried out that unfortunately were positive. Friends closed the house for self-isolation, without major ailments. On Tuesday morning, the girlfriend called the NVSC, where she learned the news that surprised her: If you feel good on Friday, you can end the isolation. No need to take a test or register somewhere. Absolutely nothing.