New requirements for isolation

Following the Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and mapping of the countries according to their epidemiological situation, Lithuania finds itself in the orange area (according to the traffic light principle) and, as of Monday, 26 October, it will apply prevention measures only to arrivals from countries in the red and grey areas. Travellers coming from these countries will be subject to the requirement of testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) or for 10-day isolation.

The order of the Minister for Health on the renewed isolation procedure  is available HERE.

Requirement for isolation will not apply in the case of:

                             - workers or self-employed persons exercising critical occupations, frontier workers and posted workers, as well as seasonal workers;

                            -  transport workers or transport service providers, including drivers of freight vehicles carrying goods for use in the territory as well as those merely transiting, etc.;

                     - patients travelling for imperative medical reasons;

                     - pupils, students and trainees who travel abroad on a daily basis;

                     - persons travelling for imperative family or business reasons;

                     - diplomats, staff of international organisations and people invited by international organisations whose physical presence is required for the well-functioning of these organisations, military personnel and police officers, and humanitarian aid workers and civil protection personnel in the exercise of their functions;

                     - passengers in transit;

                     - seafarers;

                     - journalists, when performing their duties;

- high-performance athletes, high-performance sports specialists, sports instructors and sports medical personnel participating in international tournaments;

- Lithuanian citizens returning from Belarus: teachers involved in the Lithuanian education in schools in Belarus and clergy performing pastoral work in Belarus.

Please note that isolation will not be required where there is a negative result of a test for COVID-19 (coronavirus infection) taken at maximum 48 hours before the entry to the Republic of Lithuania. In this case, people should refrain for 10 days after returning or arriving in Lithuania from social contacts, from visiting gathering places, such as events, shops, museums, catering facilities, etc., and follow the work-home routine. It is recommended to always wear protective equipment covering your nose and mouth and keep a safe distance and follow other preventive measures.

Isolation will not be required if there is a certificate from a medical establishment confirming your coronavirus infection positivity at maximum 3 months before the entry to Lithuania.

The order of the Minister for Health provides for cases when it is allowed to leave the place of isolation.

A returning from abroad individual that has been in contact may leave the place of isolation following at least 24-hour notification to the National Public Health Centre (NPHC) in the following cases:

- for arrangements for the funeral of a loved one, the transportation of the remains and/or participation in the wake ceremony/ funeral of a loved one (the 24-hour notification requirement will not be mandatory in this case);

- for a visit to a medical establishment for the collection of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimen for laboratory tests or for health care services;

- for individuals who have come to Lithuania for legal (civil registration, notary, etc.) or study matters to go to the place required for handling study or legal matters;

- for those attending own wedding;

- for high-performance athletes, sports specialists, instructors and sports medical personnel (upon presentation of supporting documents received from inviting legal entities) to go to high-performance sports training, training camps, competitions and institutions or establishments related to their sports activities;

- for foreigners arriving in Lithuania for special humanitarian reasons to go to a place required for handling legal matters or for health care services;

- for a visit to public institutions, establishments and organisations at their invitation or for handling required matters there.

It should be noted that foreigners and Lithuanian citizens living or working abroad and those who need to leave for health reasons may leave Lithuania for the country where they live, work or where health care will be provided before the lapse of the required 10-day period of isolation.

An individual that has been in contact with the infection case may leave the place of isolation following at least 24-hour notification to the NPHC in the following cases:

- for arrangements for the funeral of a loved one, the transportation of the remains or participation in the wake ceremony and funeral of a loved one (the 24-hour notification requirement will not be mandatory in this case);

- for a visit to a medical establishment for the collection of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimen for tests or for health care services.

Please also note that the changing of the place of isolation for specific reasons requires the approval and permission from the NPHC. The permission however will be issued only to go to another place of isolation. Leaving the place of isolation without prior notification to the NPHC is possible following a telephone registration at 1808 or with the NPHC for the collection of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimen for laboratory tests.

The order of the Minister for Health also provides for the duration of isolation.

The duration of isolation for coronavirus infection patients is specified in the Procedure for diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus infection in children and adults approved by Order No V-383 of the Minister for Health.  

Isolation requirement will be applicable to coronavirus suspected cases until a laboratory test for the coronavirus is received;

Individuals that have been in contact with an infection case will be required to isolate for 14 days from the last day of contact if no laboratory test has been taken, or for a shorter period if a laboratory test taken not earlier than on the 10th day of isolation has been negative. The isolation period may be shortened after the NPHC receives information from the IS EHSCI - Information system for the electronic health services and collaboration infrastructure - on the negative result of the test carried out during the specified period;

Returning from abroad travellers that have been in contact with the infection case will be required to isolate for 10 days  from the date of arrival / return to the Republic of Lithuania if no laboratory test is taken or until the negative result of a laboratory test is received if such test is carried out in Lithuania. Isolation will no longer be required if a negative test result is received, However, people should refrain for 10 days after returning or arriving in Lithuania from social contacts, from visiting gathering places, and they should follow the work-home routine. It is also important to always wear protective equipment covering the nose and mouth and keep a safe distance and follow other preventive measures.

Foreigners arriving in Lithuania, with certain exceptions, must also self-isolate for 10 days or take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test. Decision of the State Commander of National Emergency Operations concerning isolation requirements for foreigners is available HERE.

Please note that Lithuania applies in support of the Council Recommendations the so-called traffic light principle and classifies countries under the four colour categories: green, orange, red and grey.

The green group will include countries with the 14-day notification rate lower than 25 cases per 100 000 and with the test positivity rate below 4%. This means that there will be no restrictions on arrivals from the green area.

The orange group will include countries with the 14-day notification rate lower than 50 cases per 100 000 but with the test positivity rate being 4% or higher or with the 14-day notification rate between 25 and 150 cases per 100 000 and with the test positivity rate below 4%.

The red group will include countries with the 14-day notification rate of 50 cases per 100 000 or higher and the test positivity rate of 4% or higher or with the 14-day notification rate is higher than 150 cases per 100 000.

The grey group will include countries with insufficient information to assess the mentioned criteria or with the 7-day testing rate lower than 300 cases per 100 000.

As before, the list of affected countries will be published every Friday to take effect on Monday.

Press Service, Ministry of Health