Passengers from Nepal must quarantine on arrival

Passengers from Nepal now have to go into quarantine on arrival in Portugal due to Covid-19, the ministry of internal administration announced on Wednesday, joining the list of restrictions on South Africa, Brazil and India.

According to the note released to the media, the government establishes that passengers from these four countries can only make essential trips.

On arrival in mainland Portugal, a 14-day quarantine will be imposed on citizens of these four countries, either at home or at a place indicated by the health authorities. This measure is also applicable to passengers and cruise ship crews embarking or disembarking at ports in mainland Portugal and will be in force between June 15 and 27 but can be revised depending on the evolution of the pandemic.

Only member states of the European Union (EU), countries in the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and countries whose epidemiological situation complies with EU Recommendation 2020/912 of the European Council of June 30, 2020 are authorised for all types of essential and non-essential travel to Portugal.

In parallel, all people (over two years of age) who want to travel to Portugal by plane still have to present a negative test result for Covid-19, either by RT-PCR molecular test or rapid antigen test, within 72 or 24 hours before the flight, respectively. However, the rapid tests need to be approved by the EU Health Security Committee.

The ministerial statement also said that airlines should only board passengers to or from mainland Portugal following the presentation of a negative result of the test. Failure to comply with this provision may lead to a fine of €500 to €2,000 per passenger.