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Travel update: Denmark changes Sweden to yellow in latest guidelines

In a new update to Covid-19 travel guidelines announced on Friday, Denmark’s foreign ministry switched the South and West Sweden region from green to yellow.

Published: 3 September 2021 16:51 CEST

The decision means that all of Sweden is now classed as yellow in Denmark’s travel advice.

Increasing infection rates in the two areas of Sweden, which include cities Malmö, Helsingborg, Lund and Gothenburg, were cited by the ministry as the reason for the decision.

That the region and thereby Sweden as a whole is now classed yellow has some consequences for non-vaccinated travellers who have also not been previously infected with Covid-19.

The main difference between travelling to Denmark from a yellow country is that Danish residents who are not vaccinated or immune through previous infection (and must therefore take a Covid-19 test before travel) are required to get a test after entry.

Non-Danish citizens or residents are required to show a negative coronavirus test at border control.

Those arriving by air can get a rapid antigen test for free at the airport between the arrival gate and border control. The Danish foreign ministry also advises taking a PCR test after returning to Denmark.

Other changes to the travel guidelines include Croatia switching from green to yellow, with the exception of the Sjeverna Hrvatska region.

The following regions around Europe also move from green to yellow:

Niederösterreich (Austria), Bolzano (Italy), Innlandet, Agder and Trøndelag (Norway).

Spain’s Asturia region meanwhile changes from yellow to green.

The new guidelines come into effect at 4pm on Saturday.

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COVID-19 RULES

Denmark’s infectious disease agency does not recommend Covid tests for China arrivals

Travellers from China should not need a negative Covid-19 test when arriving in Denmark, the national infectious disease control agency State Serum Institute recommended on Saturday, in an assessment sent to the Ministry of Health.

Published: 7 January 2023 17:26 CET
Denmark's infectious disease agency does not recommend Covid tests for China arrivals

In the assessment by the State Serum Institute (SSI), it was noted that there aren’t expected to be a large number of arrivals coming directly from China and that any tests would have a marginal affect on Danish epidemic control.

However SSI wrote that it was still important to keep an eye on new variants of Covid-19 and suggested that a sample of voluntary-based PCR tests could be introduced for travellers from China.

The assessment was requested by Denmark’s health minister Sophie Løhde, following a recommendation on Wednesday by European Union experts to tighten travel rules.

Infection rates in China are high after it abolished its ‘zero Covid’ policy in late 2022, although no precise numbers are available.

Several European countries, including France, Spain, Italy and the UK, had already introduced testing requirements, while Sweden on Thursday announced a similar step, as did Germany, with an added announcement on Saturday to discourage non-essential travel from Germany to China.

The United States, Canada, India, South Korea and Taiwan have also put testing rules in place.

Health minister Sophie Løhde also asked SSI to assess testing waste water from aircraft landed from China. SSI responded that there is limited experience in this.

SSI currently analyses samples from shared toilet tanks at four airports twice a week – Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Billund. The method would have to be changed in order to detect new Covid-19 variants, which would take up to four weeks to implement, according to the assessment.

Løhde has informed the parliamentary parties about the assessment and has asked the Epidemic Commission for an advisory assessment, she said in a press release. Once this is done, the recommendations will be discussed. 

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