Czech residents now need negative test returning from Greece; travel restrictions to Latvia eased

Czech residents returning from Greece will now need to take a COVID-19 test when coming home, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tomáš Petříček, announced on Twitter Friday.

The announcement comes as part of the new traffic light map published by the ECDC each week. Any changes to the traffic light system will depend on COVID-19 data sent to the European Monitoring System database by EU member states.

In addition to Greece moving into the red category on the map, the Minister also announced that Latvia will return to the orange category. You will only need to provide a negative COVID-19 test if you plan to stay in the Czech Republic and work for a long period of time.

Starting Monday, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Latvia and Ireland will all be included in this group.

Countries that move to the orange tier have more than four percent of their COVID-19 tests coming back positive; in addition, these orange tier countries have less than 250 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.

Countries that move to the red tier have more than four percent of their COVID-19 tests coming back positive; in addition, these red tier countries have more than 250 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.

If you're returning from a red country, you'll need to provide a negative COVID-19 test and fill out an online form for the hygiene station. Commuters or students regularly visiting a certain country are excluded from this requirement. You can travel to a red country for up to 24 hours without providing a negative test as well for health, family, business or work reasons.