A migrant who returned to Lithuania on vacation during quarantine: we were convinced that what they told him was a lie

It is currently possible to enter Lithuania through the following border control points: on the border with Latvia through Būtingė – Rucavė, Kalvius – Meitenė, Saločius – Grenctalė or Smėlynė – Medumi, and on the border with Poland – through Kalvarija – Budziska, Lazdijus – Aradninkus.

It is currently established that you do not need to be isolated for 14 days if you came from Poland after May 11 and visited there for work, business or study, or if you came from Latvia or Estonia after May 15.

However, people share different experiences: two women contacted Delfi’s editorial office, one of whom returned by car from Germany through Poland to Lithuania, and the other from Latvia. They were both very surprised that the order was completely different from what they had previously understood.

“Out of control”

Agnė “Delfi”, who works in Germany, said that she and her husband decided to return to Lithuania by car a few days ago. She was immediately surprised at how overwhelmed reality was with the news stories in the news about such trips.

“As for the German-Polish border, we’ve seen a lot of scary messages on TV before anyone misses anything and double-checks, sometimes even says go back, and it’s practically impossible to go overland, but we realized it was a complete myth. ” We take about a minute and a half to this wall. Of course, there is a checkpoint like this, we had German employment contracts with us, and when we approached the Polish border, an employee checked the temperature, found everything was fine, and ordered us to go to a colleague. He simply asked if we had employment contracts, we answered yes, but he did not review them at all. “

According to the woman, the impression was created that a false employment contract could be terminated; I could still drive.

“It just came to our attention then. Even in public it was said that it only allowed transit through Poland at night, but we did it at noon. Therefore, those sayings are also lies. We crossed the German-Polish border around 12 noon. Days. My husband and I continued to joke to be able to transport 5 illegals because they did not check us at all. Two “Ufonautas” dressed in white ran towards the Lithuanian border, checked the temperature and set 37 degrees for the man. This did not stop us from returning at all, he said everything was fine, and he told us to keep driving, and he wished him well. “

According to Agnė, they did not even ask why their car numbers were German, nor did they check their passports.

“Is this control? I do not understand that the crisis situation has been declared everywhere, so how did you not even check your identity document? There was no record or anything to complete, no warning of where to isolate those 14 days, there was nothing like it! There was even talk of a mandatory test for COVID-19, which also didn’t say anything about it. If they don’t even check passports, what else can we talk about?

She also did not understand if she and her husband needed to isolate themselves, because no one even delved into their origin.

“The documents are not verified and any criminal can lose entry.”

There were scary messages

Ingrida, who works in the tourism field and also went to the Latvian city of Bauska for a business day, also submitted an application to the editorial office. There, as she said, she wanted to familiarize herself with the possible routes for excursions, she was completely calm that there would be no problems crossing the border.

“When I entered Latvia, I checked my documents, the temperature, everything is fine. When I returned the same day, the same order. Again, he took me somewhere to check my documents, measured the temperature, and allowed me to continue driving. However, I was very surprised when I received a message from the National Center for Public Health the next day that I had to complete an isolation consent form.

It is true, then I read that it appears there, except in Latvia and Estonia, but if my clients then received such messages and they were completed recklessly. Shouldn’t they be isolated then?

The woman was also very concerned about the knowledge that her data was being collected and all her steps were possibly being followed.

“I do not understand why my data is collected, or is BDAR no longer valid for such cases? If it has been said that we can cross the border freely, I think there should be no such messages. It should now be understood that, however, the institutions State officials follow me like in any Soviet Union. This means you have an email. I cannot send a letter without their consent, and the ministry and its subordinate institutions are free to collect data and follow us, “Ingrida asked.

Remember which order applies

Aurimas Raulinaitis, Chief Specialist of the Public Health Security Division of the National Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health, stated that it is difficult to respond without knowing all the details of the specific situation.

“However, in the first case, it really could not be, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) verifies each person’s documents, because foreigners cannot enter Lithuania without special permits. Document verifications generally do not they have nothing to do with NVSC activities at the border. The NVSC measures the temperature and collects information on people who arrive if they need 14 days of self-isolation. The SBGS can continue to lead all people who are not subject to self-isolation.

The specialist recalled that people who come from Poland are not subject to 14 days of self-isolation if they are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and went to Poland for work, science or business.

Commenting on the second situation, A. Raulinaitis noted that people arriving from Latvia are not subject to 14 days of self-isolation, unless they arrive in Latvia from other countries (for example, by plane or ferry) and transit to Lithuania.

“The Latvian border guard services collect data from these people and transmit it to the Lithuanian services. Those persons, if they have not registered in good faith when crossing the Lithuanian border, will be sent a notice regarding the obligation to self-isolate and complete the registration form upon request. People who claim they are unjustifiably subject to self-isolation generally hide the fact that they came to Latvia from abroad, trying to avoid the obligation of self-isolation, “he said.

He also emphasized that self-isolation does not apply to people from Poland, Latvia and Estonia, as long as they have not gone to other foreign countries in a 14-day period.

“If a person came to Poland, Latvia or Estonia from another country and tried to reach Lithuania in transit, they will be required 14 days of self-isolation.”