A number of popular holiday destinations were changed from green to yellow in the latest update to the Danish foreign ministry’s Covid-19 travel guidelines.
France was changed from a green to a yellow country in the update on Friday, although 9 of France’s 13 regions will remain green under the regional application of the traffic light system.
Like France, Belgium also switches from green to yellow. One Belgian region remains green.
Danish residents returning home from travel to a yellow country are required to take a Covid-19 test on their return to Denmark. Exceptions apply for people who are fully vaccinated or previously infected with the coronavirus.
Denmark classifies countries and regions around the world into four categories for Covid-19 travel restrictions: green, yellow, orange and red. The colour codes determine the rules that must be observed to enter Denmark, including those related to quarantine or isolation.
The requirements vary depending on whether you are travelling with a negative recent test, are fully vaccinated or have previously been infected with Covid-19.
French capital Paris is among the regions to go yellow on Friday, as are the two regions encompassing the country’s Mediterranean coast as well as the island of Corsica.
The Belgian region to avoid switching to yellow is Wallonia, which stays green. Capital Brussels is now yellow.
Greece also sees more regions turn from yellow to green adding to the parts of the country which were changed last week. That means that most of Greece is now yellow.
No changes were made this week to the Danish foreign ministry’s guidelines for travel to the United Kingdom.
Since last week, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been red on the four-tier colour system for Covid-19 travel restrictions, while Wales is orange. Those colours will remain in place until at least July 31st.
That means the ministry still advises against all travel to all of the UK with the exception of Wales, which remains orange (all non-essential travel is discouraged).
As such, all travellers resident in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland will need to present a PCR test taken within the past 72 hours before boarding a plane to Denmark and will need to isolate upon arrival, even if previously vaccinated or infected.
Vaccinated people from Wales can still travel to Denmark without having to isolate.
Additionally, a worthy purpose is required to enter Denmark for all visitors from red countries. For orange countries, vaccinated people do not require a worthy purpose to enter Denmark, but people travelling on the basis of a recent negative test or prior infection do need a worthy purpose. It should be noted that the list of valid worthy purposes is shorter for red countries than for orange countries.
Citizens of Greece wishing to enter Denmark will be required to follow the entry rules as the latter’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs moved Greece from the green to the yellow category.
Such a decision means that the Hellenic Republic no longer belongs to the list of countries considered entirely safe, based on their epidemiological situation. However, the following parts of Greece remain on the green list:
Greece: Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Northern Aegean Sea, Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia, Western Greece, Ionian Islands, Central Greece, and the Peloponnese.
According to the announcement of the same Ministry, the following countries are also part of the yellow list:
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
In addition, the yellow category also includes the following regions of Spain:
- Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha and Melilla
The Ministry has emphasized that children under age 16 are excluded from such a decision.
Travellers from Latvia and French Guiana are required to follow entry requirements when planning to visit Denmark, as both territories belong to the orange category of countries which includes medium-risk countries.
All territories included in the orange category are subject to stricter entry restrictions.
Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has moved Ukraine to the yellow category after estimating the COVID-19 situation in the latter.
As for the orange category, it currently includes the following countries outside the European Union and the Schengen Zone: Rwanda, Thailand, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal
The red category, which consists of countries highly affected by the disease, at present includes Cuba, Libya, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Iran.
In addition, authorities in Denmark have clarified that the following regions will be part of the red list:
Great Britain: West Midlands, East Midlands, South West, South East, London, and the East of England as well as Northern Ireland (all of Great Britain except Wales).
According to the statistics published by the World Health Organization, Denmark has registered a total of 306,100 COVID-19 cases and 2,542 deaths.
The new travel guidelines come into effect at 4pm on Saturday, July 24th.
