From Monday travellers from most EU countries arriving in Finland are once again required to isolate and asked to take a coronavirus test.
Of EU and Schengen area states, only arrivals from Cyprus, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Poland, San Marino and the Vatican are on the 'green' list of countries with no restrictions on entry.
Finland reintroduced entry restrictions on travellers arriving from EU countries including Sweden, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Spain, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia starting Monday.
Restrictions will also be imposed on travellers from Canada, China, Georgia, Russia, USA among others.
The decision came just weeks after Finland relaxed border restrictions for many of these countries. Finland updates its 'traffic light' list of countries subject to entry restrictions every Sunday (siirryt toiseen palveluun).
Only return traffic to Finland, transit traffic, work-related travel or travel for other essential reasons are allowed from these high-incidence countries.
Day-to-day travel will still be permitted for residents of communities on northern Finland’s borders with Sweden and Norway. Those coming from Sweden and Estonia will also be able to work in Finland without a 14-day self-isolation period.
This week's APN podcast discussed the coronavirus situation. You can listen to the full podcast via the embedded player here or via Yle Areena, Spotify (siirryt toiseen palveluun), Apple Podcasts (siirryt toiseen palveluun) or your usual podcast player using the RSS feed (siirryt toiseen palveluun).
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New testing requirements
The interior ministry has also posted new self-isolation and testing measures for travellers (siirryt toiseen palveluun)which will remain in effect from 1 October to 22 November.
Those coming from high-incidence countries for work-related or other essential travel are recommended to take voluntary Covid-19 test in the country of origin within 72 hours before arrival. A second test should be taken no earlier than 72 hours after entering Finland.
Travellers must remain in self-isolation in their place of residence until they receive a negative test result. If the result is positive, the doctor will place the person in quarantine until they have recovered.
Travellers staying in Finland for less than three days will not be required to quarantine or take a second test.
Recreational travel is permitted for those arriving from low-incidence countries — no tests or quarantine required.
The government has said the list of restricted and permitted countries will be reviewed on a weekly basis and updated as necessary.
