Extensive testing of Covid-19 will begin at Riga Airport

Due to the rapid spread of the new variant of Covid-19 – omicron – not only in Africa, but also in European countries, more intensive testing of arriving passengers Covid-19 will be carried out from today, the Ministry of Health (MoA) informs.

It is planned that all passengers on Covid-19 will be tested on a random basis every day for four to six flights, regardless of their vaccination or disease status.

Flights from the countries with the highest number of imported Covid-19 cases in Latvia will be selected for the screening test, namely Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Egypt, Poland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Spain, Russia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, Ukraine, Georgia and Switzerland. The selection of flights will be made on a rotating basis.

The testing of the said screening will be carried out on the basis of the provisions of the Cabinet of Ministers Order “On Declaring an Emergency”, which envisages intensified testing of migrants in case of epidemiological need. Transit passengers, children under the age of 12, flight crew and certain other persons exempted from the order will be able to opt out of the test.

When asked what would happen if a passenger entering Latvia who had to take the Covid-19 test refused to do so, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told LETA that in that case the person would be punished – similarly to other violations of the requirements of the emergency. The Ministry of the Interior called on the Ministry of the Interior or the police for further explanation. Pursuant to Section 21 of the Law “On Emergency and Exceptional Situation”, a fine shall be imposed for violation of restrictions or prohibitions established during an emergency, the amount of which may be from ten to 2,000 euros for a natural person and from 140 to 5,000 euros for a legal person.

Saliva samples will be used to make the tests as convenient and expeditious as possible, and the airport has also specifically adapted the boarding sector. The screening test for incoming passengers will be paid from the state budget.

The Ministry of Health calls for the possibility of a voluntary, state-funded Covid-19 test after arrival for people who will arrive on flights that will not be screened. The laboratory point for voluntary tests for Schengen migrants is located in the “E” waiting room at the exit of the terminal, while non-Schengen migrants may pass the test in the “C” test area at the arrival terminal before the border control.

According to the Ministry, the aim of these measures is to extend the period of time as much as possible until the spread of the omicron variant in Latvia. By identifying imported cases of the omicron variant in a timely manner, there is a better chance of ensuring epidemiological control measures to prevent the spread of the infection. The ministry also emphasizes that the screening will also reveal other cases of Covid-19 caused by variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, for which epidemiological control is also important.

During the testing of volunteers at the airport “Riga”, the first six imported cases of Covid-19 were registered, in which specific mutations of the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were detected in the laboratory. Two of these cases were confirmed by sequencing.

Of the six cases reported, three were infected in Sweden, two in Norway and one in the United Kingdom. In addition, four contact persons of these passengers have been infected, reports the Ministry of Health. Therefore, according to the Ministry, it is important to extend the testing not only to immigrants from countries where the circulation of the omicron variant has been proven in the society, but also to other countries from which the infection is most often introduced into Latvia.

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