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On Friday, 20 March, the Saeima held an extraordinary sitting and adopted the decision by the Cabinet of Ministers to extend the precautionary measures taken during the emergency situation to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers decree on declaring a state of emergency provide that tourism service providers and passenger carriers must cancel tourist trips abroad. Where possible, work-related travel and business trips abroad should also be cancelled.

The amendments stipulate that cultural, entertainment, sports and other recreation venues should not open earlier than 8:00 or close later than 23:00.

If, due to the state of emergency, it is impossible to ensure conformance of the study process with the requirements set out in the relevant laws and regulations, the Minister of Education and Science has the authority to assess the particular circumstances of the state of emergency and decide on extending the school year. Additionally, the Minister is authorised to decide on shortening the duration of qualification practice in vocational secondary education programmes.

According to the amendments, before returning to the Republic of Latvia, a person must certify in writing that, upon returning to the Republic of Latvia, they will observe special precautionary measures, including self-isolation. The requirement to self-isolate (organise quarantine at home) does not apply to the staff of transport service providers and passenger carriers or the crew of passenger, cargo, or technical transport services returning from work-related travel, if they show no symptoms of acute respiratory infections and they have not been established as contact persons of COVID-19 patients.

The Cabinet decisions provide that nationals of the Republic of Latvia and foreign nationals whose permanent residence is the Republic of Latvia are granted a one-off permission to enter through the border crossing points indicated in the decree to return to their permanent residence. Moreover, in case of an expiry of an identity document issued by the Republic of Latvia, the document remains valid for the identification of a person during the state of emergency.

Foreign nationals who were legal residents of the Republic of Latvia until 13 March 2020 and whose status of legal residence expired after 13 March, may remain in the Republic of Latvia during the state of emergency without applying for a new residence permit or visa and retain the right to employment, if such right is provided for by the respective residence permit or visa.

The amendments to the Cabinet decision on declaring a state of emergency also specify epidemiological safety measures to be observed by people arriving from abroad; people who have been established by the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control as contact persons of infectious disease COVID-19; and people with a COVID-19 diagnosis confirmed through laboratory testing whose health conditions permit them to undergo treatment at home.

The Cabinet decrees on the emergency situation are in effect since their adoption on 17 and 19 March, respectively.

Full text of the decision in Latvian: https://titania.saeima.lv/LIVS13/saeimalivs_lmp.nsf/0/D2A06F684E388C1EC2258531002BCD2B?OpenDocument

Saeima Press Service