By STA
Stricter rules to enter Slovenia have kicked in for several groups, including people commuting daily to work outside Slovenia, in an EU or Schengen country. From today, they only do not have to quarantine if they can produce a negative coronavirus test result not older than seven days. The measure applies to arrivals from red-listed countries.
People commuting daily to work in one of the EU or Schengen-area countries can enter Slovenia without mandatory quarantine with a negative test result, a PCR or a rapid one, which is not older than seven days. They have to return within 14 hours after leaving Slovenia.
A negative test result is also obligatory for persons crossing the border for educational or research purposes in an EU or Schengen country. The person accompanying the one travelling for these purposes can enter Slovenia under the same conditions, but has to return immediately after dropping them off.
The new measure also applies to arrivals from another EU or Schengen zone country where they engage in day care or personal assistance, maintenance works on a private building or land, or in activity designed to eliminate risks to health, lives and property. They must return to Slovenia within 12 hours after crossing the border.
A negative test result is also obligatory for dual owners or lessees of land in bordering areas or on both sides of border who cross into a neighbouring country to do agricultural work; they have to return to Slovenia within ten hours.
Persons coming to Slovenia for a medical appointment need a negative test result too, and are obliged to leave the country upon completing it.
The government introduced this measure for most of these groups at the start of February, but soon softened it to apply only to persons arriving in Slovenia from EU or Schengen countries with a worse epidemiological situation than Slovenia.
For all the other arrivals from the red-listed countries quarantine is still compulsory, while it can be avoided with a negative test result; the PCR test must not be older than 48 hours since the swab was taken and the rapid antigen test not older than 24 hours.
Those who have already fallen ill with Covid-19 and recovered from it or have been vaccinated against coronavirus can enter Slovenia without restrictions.
The list of the groups that do not have to quarantine or produce a negative test upon entering Slovenia features a total of nine exceptions.