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As recently as Wednesday, the government announced that some of the requirements for the quarantine regime have changed since this week. As of March 10, all persons returning or arriving in Lithuania must have a document with a translation into Lithuanian, English or Russian, confirming that the person did not return more than 72 hours in advance. A Covid-19 test was performed and it came back negative.
This means that it will no longer be possible to enter Lithuania without a negative coronavirus test. Until now, the test could be done even after returning to Lithuania.
Ten days of self-isolation will also apply to those who have returned or arrived in Lithuania. It will be possible to stop after seven days, but only if the person is tested for coronavirus. The page of the National Center for Public Health (NVSC) states that a person must pay for such a test.
Travel agencies will also need to guarantee a negative test result.
The government recently announced that tour operators would also have to ensure that passengers who fail the negative test do not enter Lithuania. Last Wednesday, such an obligation was imposed only on carriers, and on Friday the government revised the decision.
“This amendment would ensure greater control of returning and arriving passengers, so that all passengers have to carry out an investigation and consequently would help to better organize work both at airports and elsewhere.
Therefore, in our resolution, tour operators and tourism service providers appear right next to carriers, and there are additional “tourists” next to where we regulate “passengers,” Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys said at the meeting.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė pointed out that on Wednesday there is already an obligation to carry out tests for people returning on charter flights.
“And here there is more a question of who has the duty to guarantee whether it is the carrier or, in the case of such trips, the tour operator,” the prime minister said.
The decision was unexpected
Representatives of the tourism sector say they are surprised by the government’s decision. The tourism sector was not consulted before the decision to enter Lithuania was made with only a negative test.
“We are really surprised by the change in this requirement. If there had been any discussion, if there had been a discussion with the companies, with the structures associated with the companies, we too could have prepared a little bit in advance and maybe all the communication would have been a little different than it is now. Now we are against the fact, ”says Milda Plepytė-Rainienė, president of the Lithuanian Tourism Association, on tv3.lt.
The Minister of Economy and Innovation, Aušrinė Armonaitė, made similar comments last Friday.
“We understand that these are additional responsibilities for tour operators. Perhaps just a wish for you and the colleagues who are preparing these projects to coordinate with the tour operators and others affected by these changes. Because some people have already left and will have to think about how to do these COVID-19 tests, ”said the Minister.
According to M. Plepytė-Rainienė, the tourism sector does not oppose mandatory tests before arriving in Lithuania, this measure could even help travelers to feel better; They should not be concerned that the passengers sitting next to the plane do not have Covid-19. Mandatory testing would also help undermine public confidence that the virus is primarily transmitted by travelers in the country.
“But there are other illogical and other omissions. First, we received a resolution that such a resolution has been adopted on such amendments, and only then is the goal to seek options on how to implement those resolutions,” says M. Plepytė-Rainienė.
According to her, there are still many unanswered questions for travelers. Travelers who have had Covid-19 or who have already been vaccinated twice can collect certificates from the electronic health system indicating that the person has been vaccinated or vaccinated.
Sick or vaccinated people do not need to isolate themselves after the trip when they arrive in Lithuania.
“However, these certificates are in Lithuanian. Again, imagine that when a person flies on regular flights, for example, to the Maldives and has to return to Lithuania, they will simply show the staff a certificate in Lithuanian and it will be difficult for anyone who is there to understand what is actually written in that certificate, I would very much like to see the same decisions followed in parallel if there is a resolution.
In this case, a resolution would be passed and travelers could withdraw from eHealth, upgrade, or show the certificate in English on the phone. In this way, we would reduce various misunderstandings and misunderstandings, and reduce potential inconvenience for travelers, ”says M. Plepytė-Rainienė.
Travelers who are currently sick or vaccinated should arrange for the certificate to be translated. In several translation agencies, the translation of a single document ranges between € 5 and € 10.
Isolation makes it difficult to return to the homeland
There is also a lot of dissatisfaction with the change of order in the public sphere. Travelers wonder why a negative test still takes 10 days to isolate and why travelers need to do PCR tests for their personal money.
Marius, a reader of the tv3.lt portal, has lived in Denmark for some time. The man says he wants to return to his homeland, often thinking about it, but government decisions and the current system of self-isolation still cause him to change his mind.
“I have here (In Denmark – aut. last.) I do business on my own, I work with my own hands and every day is dear to me. Time is money. It is better to spend ten days in a place with something than in a closed place. In any case, go back to Lithuania to see relatives you haven’t seen for a long time ”, Marius shares with tv3.lt and adds that he has a hard time because of the isolation.
The man has not been in Lithuania for more than a year, he should return here with his family also because his daughter’s passport has expired. It is possible to change the passport at the Lithuanian Embassy in Copenhagen, but due to the long lines, it is difficult to get there. When he returned to Lithuania, Marius would shoot two bunnies in one go, change his daughter’s passport and visit relatives.
To shorten the isolation after returning to Lithuania, a Covid-19 PCR test can be performed after seven days, but will need to be paid for. Marius, who lives in Denmark, says he takes exams frequently, but only had to take a paid exam once. In private clinics in Lithuania, the prices of PCR tests for coronavirus start from 70 euros, sometimes reaching 100 euros, but the price of the test paid by Marius was much lower than in Lithuania.
“As for the tests I did in Denmark, because when I went to another country, I only did the tests in Denmark, if I needed them, all the tests were free for me. When I came to Denmark from Germany, I did one thing, it seems to me that in Germany it cost 25 euros ”, says Marius.
Representatives of the tourism sector also testify that PCR tests are not the cheapest in Lithuania.
“If we talk about the possible costs of the test on the island of Tenerife, then the cost of the PCR method is about 99 euros, the antigen test would cost about 30 euros. Meanwhile, if we talk about Egypt, the price should be around $ 50-60, ”says M. Plepytė-Rainienė, president of the Lithuanian Tourism Association.
0% was entered for testing. VAT tax
Last year, the Seimas decided that starting in January this year, zero value added tax (VAT) will be applied to vaccines and tests. However, the prices do not appear to have dropped.
Last year, the portal tv3.lt wrote about how much it costs to carry out a molecular test for coronavirus in different private clinics. We check what trial prices are available at these clinics now. In one clinic, the cost of the study increased by four euros, in other clinics the prices were unchanged. In some places, you will have to pay another € 5-10 to obtain the necessary test certificate for the trip.
Asking why test prices have not decreased since January, tv3.lt approached Laimutis Paškevičius, director of the Lithuanian Association of Private Health Institutions. He says that the price is a matter for each institution, so he recommends contacting the clinics for clarification.
The tv3.lt portal sent inquiries to several private health institutions, but only one agreed to answer the question why prices did not drop: the Center for Medical Diagnosis and Treatment.
“Although the 5% was abolished at the beginning of the year. To achieve a VAT rate on the reagents used for these tests, the costs associated with the tests have increased, such as personal protective equipment, which is strictly changed after each person who comes to perform the test.
At the same time, to meet the needs of our customers and meet the increasing volume of testing, we also invest in the purchase of additional equipment. However, we do everything possible to ensure that the cost of research does not increase for our clients ”, explains Deividas Prasipauskas, director of the institution.
It would make sense to try and go back
Virologist Professor Saulius Čaplinskas supports the idea of testing before coming to Lithuania. This, according to the professor, will help reduce the risk of infection.
“It just came to our attention then. First of all, one must realize such a thing that, unfortunately, we cannot guarantee one hundred percent in any way that we will not inhale enough viral infectious doses of the virus when interacting with other people. , you need to try various means, if you don’t avoid it, to reduce the risk, “says S. Čaplinskas on tv3.lt.
The professor says that by constantly and systematically testing people, it is possible to prevent the spread of wide foci and locate them more quickly. According to S. Čaplinskas, rapid tests can also be used for research.
However, in the opinion of S. Čaplinskas, it would be useful to test travelers not only before returning to Lithuania, but also after their return.
“If we test certain groups every week, then the effect would be great. If we come back in a few days, it would be very logical to do another cartel test in a week,” says S. Čaplinskas.
A negative Covid-19 test return is not required for people under the age of 16 who have relapsed Covid-19 (when the diagnosis has been confirmed by a positive PCR test or an antigen test and they have not passed more than 90 days from return or arrival in Lithuania), vaccinated persons (who have been vaccinated in the European Union Drug Register within the framework of the vaccination plan).
Negative test results are also not required for crew and crew members transporting passengers on international routes in all types of vehicles and for persons transiting through Lithuania.
The Statistics Department reports that a total of more than two million diagnostic tests for the coronavirus have been performed since the start of the pandemic. In total, more than 930 thousand. persons.
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