BERLIN – Germany’s health agency yesterday said it will lift a ban on most travellers from the United Kingdom, India and three other countries hit by the Delta variant of Covid-19.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said India, Nepal, Russia, Portugal and the UK, currently listed as so-called “virus variant countries”, will be reclassified from tomorrow as “high-incidence areas”.
The change eases a ban on entry for travellers who are not German residents or citizens, meaning anyone will be able to enter as long as they observe quarantine and testing rules.
Germany introduced its “virus variant country” travel category in a bid to stop new variants that have not yet spread widely on home soil.
But, Health Minister Jens Spahn last week said Delta is fast becoming dominant in the country, meaning that bans on most travellers from nations hit by the variant may be lifted.
Given the increasing spread of Delta, which was first detected in India, and research suggesting vaccines are effective against it, “we will look at the situation in the next few days”, said Spahn.
Chancellor Angela Merkel also hinted at a potential softening in Germany’s stance towards travellers from Britain during a visit to London on Friday.
Last month, she called for tough restrictions, including longer quarantine, for people travelling from Britain, where Delta has caused a surge in cases.
Merkel’s hint
Merkel indicated, however, that the stance could soften as travel advice is reviewed.
“We think that in the foreseeable future, those who have received double jabs will... be able to travel again, without having to go into quarantine.”
Only citizens and residents of Germany are permitted to enter from a variant country and are subjected to a two-week quarantine, regardless of whether they are fully vaccinated or can provide a negative test.
In contrast, anyone can enter from a high-incidence country so long as they provide a negative test on arrival. They must, in principle, enter a 10-day quarantine, but can end it after five days with another negative test.
Travellers from high-incidence areas are also exempted from quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated.
Countries where variants other than Delta are circulating, such as Brazil and South Africa, remain in the variant category.
Despite the rising share of the Delta variant, the overall incidence in Germany has been steadily declining in recent weeks.
RKI yesterday reported 212 new cases in the past 24 hours, and an incidence rate of five new infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days. – AFP, July 6, 2021
