All passengers disembarking at the airports of Ponta Delgada, on the island of S. Miguel, or Lajes, on the island of Terceira, coming from airports located in areas considered by the World Health Organization to be areas of active community transmission or with active transmission chains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, are required to fulfill, alternatively, one of the following procedures:
- Submit proof, in paper form, of a document issued by an accredited laboratory for the testing of COVID-19, attesting to the SARS-CoV-2 screening test, within 72 hours prior to the departure the airport of origin. The document must state the passenger's identification, the laboratory where it was performed, the date of the test, the signature of the person responsible for carrying out the test, and the NEGATIVE result. In this case, and if the stay is extended for seven or more days, the passenger must, on the 5th and 13th day, counting from the date of the SARS-CoV-2 screening test, if the stay is for the mentioned duration or more, contact the health authority of the municipality where you reside or are staying, with the objective of conducting a new SARS-CoV-2 screening test, done by the local health authority, the result of which you will be notified within 24 hours; or
- Complete a screening test for SARS-CoV-2, done by the local health authority, with the collection of biological samples upon arrival, and must remain, in prophylactic isolation, in a hotel room indicated for this purpose until the result of said test NEGATIVE, in which the amount of time between the collection of the samples and the NEGATIVE test result must not exceed 48 hours. In this case, and if the stay is extended for seven or more days, the passenger must, on the 5th and 13th day, counting from the date of the SARS-CoV-2 screening test, if the stay is for the mentioned duration or more, contact the health authority of the municipality where you reside or are staying, with the objective of conducting a new SARS-CoV-2 screening test, done by the local health authority, the result of which you will be notified within 24 hours; or
- Carry out voluntary quarantine for a consecutive period of fourteen days in a hotel indicated for this purpose, prior to the end of the mentioned period, biological samples will be collected and a SARS-CoV-2 screening test to be done by the local health authority; or
- Return to the destination of origin or travel to any destination outside the Region, in which case until the time of the flight mandatory prophylactic isolation in a hotel indicated for the purpose must be fulfilled;
In cases where the SARS-CoV-2 virus test result is POSITIVE, the local health authority, within the scope of its powers, will determine the procedures to be followed.
In cases where mandatory quarantine is decreed by the health authority, it must, within 24 hours, be submitted to judicial validation with the competent court.
In the period pending the results of the SARS-CoV-2 screening test, as well as in cases of voluntary quarantine or mandatory quarantine, safeguarding compliance with the guidelines determined by the health authority for the prevention of infection, those who are subjected to them must be able to enjoy the same services that are made available to a guest under normal circumstances, except for those that may make the guidelines previously determined unfeasible or weakened.
Procedures for passengers coming from outside of the Region who wish to move to another island, must proceed as indicated:
- Passengers must communicate this intention, on arrival, to the health authority, by completing a declaration for this purpose;
- Passengers who perform a SARS-CoV-2 screening test upon arrival in the Region, if they have another island as their final destination, can move to this island, after receiving the NEGATIVE result;
- Passengers who present a previous NEGATIVE SARS-CoV-2 screening test, if they have another island as their final destination, can move to this island;
- Passengers referred to in the previous paragraphs, when arriving at the final destination island, must comply with the procedures mentioned in above paragraphs a) and b), in the regards to contact with the municipal health authority, on the 5th and 13th day, for conducting a SARS-CoV-2 screening test.
All passengers must comply with the rules for the use of a mask, physical distance and respiratory etiquette defined by the regional health authority.
In cases where the SARS-CoV-2 virus test result is POSITIVE, the local health authority, within the scope of its powers, will determine the procedures to be followed.
Necessary information concerning the hotel units determined for this purpose and the associated services and conditions, will be available through the COVID-19 Line for non-medical issues - 800 29 29 29 or by email esclarecimentocovid19@azores.gov.pt.
