Status: 08/13/2021 6:19 p.m.
The federal government will declare Turkey to be high-risk areas from Tuesday and the USA from Sunday. Surprisingly, there is also another country: Israel, the former world vaccination champion.
Due to the increasing number of corona infections, the federal government classifies Turkey as a high-risk area. From Tuesday, travelers from the popular holiday country who have not been vaccinated or recovered will have to be in quarantine for five to ten days, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
The number of corona cases in Turkey rose rapidly at the end of July, and well over 20,000 new cases are currently being registered every day. In July there were still around 7,000 per day. For comparison: In Germany, around 5578 new cases were reported on Friday – with a similar population.
The USA and Israel are also becoming high-risk areas
Tourism is an important source of income in the country. Last year it fell by around 70 percent. Most tourists travel to Turkey from Russia, followed by people from Germany. In addition to Corona, the devastating forest fires in the south-west of the country are also causing problems for the industry.
The USA, Israel, Kenya, Montenegro, Vietnam and two French overseas territories will also be classified as high-risk areas from Sunday. Portugal, on the other hand, is removed from the risk list, with the exception of the Algarve, which is particularly popular with tourists, and the capital Lisbon.
Israel expects many seriously ill
The US rating is likely to have little impact on travel at first. Washington is working on easing entry restrictions for Europeans. When this will happen is still unclear. The highly contagious Delta variant is still preventing the Americans from opening the border.
The classification of Israel as a high-risk area, on the other hand, is likely to surprise many. The country was once celebrated as the world champion in vaccination. In the meantime, however, the vaccinations are stagnating and the delta variant is on the advance.
In addition, the situation in the hospitals is worsening. According to a report by the news website ynet, the Israeli government expects up to 2,400 seriously ill corona patients by mid-September. At the height of the pandemic in Israel in January, the number of seriously ill people had been around 1,200.
Almost 70 countries are high risk areas
With the new classifications, there will be almost 70 countries that have been declared by the federal government in whole or in part to be high-risk areas, i.e. countries with a particularly high risk of infection.
Unlike in the past, it is not just the infection numbers that are decisive. Other criteria are the speed at which the virus is spreading, the burden on the health system in a country or a lack of data on the corona situation.
Fully vaccinated and recovered travelers from high-risk areas are exempt from the quarantine obligation. All others have to isolate themselves after entering the country and can only get rid of it after five days with a negative test.
Turkey becomes a high risk area
Eva Ellermann, ARD Berlin, August 13, 2021 7:59 p.m.