Lithuania allows outdoor venues, driving schools to reopen

Negative PCR test will be required from all incoming travellers

A slight easing of lockdown restrictions is to take place in Lithuania, as the government has decided to reopen all outdoor venues, allow more outdoor activities and give the go-ahead to driving schools to conduct lessons and examinations, reports LRT.

Outdoor venues and activities get going

As of Saturday, 6 March, outdoor museums, galleries, zoos, botanical gardens and other open-air venues can resume work. Nonetheless, visits and event participation there will be only possible in groups of up to five people. From the same date, two households (instead of the current limit of maximum two people from different households) will be able to meet outdoors and organise private events in the open air.

Outdoor sports, leisure and entertainment services for up to five people will also be allowed. Libraries will be able to reopen to in-person visits. Drive-in events will also be permitted, with attendance capped at two people or members of one family per car. 

According to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, the government mulls allowing indoor museums and cultural institutions to also reopen in municipalities with low infection rates, but there is no decision yet.

From 10 March, driving schools can resume lessons and examinations. According to Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė, schools are ready to conduct driving lessons with all safety precautions in place. Driving school instructors gathered yesterday in protest against the ban on driving lessons.

Negative PCR test from all arrivals

As of 10 March, all incoming travellers to Lithuania must present a negative PCR test taken no later than 72 hours before arrival. Covid-19 antigen rapid tests will not be valid for entry. The PCR test result will have to be translated into Lithuanian, English, or Russian. Exemptions apply to crew members, travellers transiting Lithuania, people younger than 16 years, and persons who have been vaccinated or have recovered from coronavirus infection.

One step at a time

The Lithuanian government is careful not to lift too many restrictions too soon in the light of the danger that new, more contagious and vaccine-resistant mutations of the virus may get the upper hand. Still, the lockdown seems to bear fruit, with just 503 new cases registered daily on Wednesday and the share of positive tests taken over the past seven days at 7 percent. According to the country's statistics office, Lithuania's 14-day coronavirus infection rate now stands at 254.7 per 100,000 people.