Australia has reopened its borders two years after the country was closed due to Corona and has been welcoming tourists from all over the world for the first time since this Monday. Visitors who have been vaccinated twice can now take a quarantine-free holiday in the dreamland of many long-distance travellers. “The wait is over,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The borders of Down Under were closed for 704 days, as Australian media calculated. Hardly any other western country pursued such a strict isolationist strategy.
According to the Tourism Australia tourist office, 9.5 million visitors came in 2019, bringing around 45 billion Australian dollars (28.5 billion euros) into the coffers. The important industry came to a virtual standstill due to the corona virus. Prime Minister Morrison bluntly called on guests: “Don’t forget to bring your money, because you will find many ways to spend it.” More than 1.2 million people from all parts of the world already have visas and can come, Morrison said. The media spoke of a “milestone” on the way to the country’s economic recovery.
An exception to the requirement of double vaccination is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is also approved but requires only one shot. A booster vaccination is not necessary and will not be in the future as things stand, Morrison recently emphasized. Tourists are now only required to take a PCR or antigen test within the first 24 hours of arrival, and they are not allowed to use public transport from the airport to their accommodation. Unvaccinated people, on the other hand, must apply for an exemption and be quarantined in a hotel after arrival.
However, different states and territories have different rules, such as caps on international arrivals. These remain in force. Western Australia with the metropolis of Perth will not open its borders until March 3rd. (02/21/2022)
Incidence increases minimally
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has reported a slight increase in the nationwide seven-day incidence after a decline of several days. If you round the figures from the authority, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Monday morning was 1347. For comparison: the day before the value was 1346. A week ago, the nationwide incidence was 1460 (previous month: 706). The health authorities in Germany reported 73,867 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. This is evident from numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 5 a.m. A week ago there were 76,465 infections. According to the information, 22 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours. A week ago it was 42.
Experts assume a high number of infections that are not recorded in the RKI data. Test capacities and health authorities are therefore at the limit in many places, and contacts are only tracked to a limited extent. In addition, there is likely to be a larger number of people who no longer have their infection confirmed by a PCR test – the infection is therefore not included in the official statistics. That is why we use the SZ Corona Dashboard to show an average value from the reports of the past seven days, which is intended to compensate for fluctuations from day to day. You can find more information on this in the transparency blog, further data and graphics on the pandemic here. (02/21/2022)
Biden extends corona emergency
US President Joe Biden has extended the national emergency beyond March 1 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. By that date, the state of emergency declared in 2020 by previous President Donald Trump would have automatically expired. Biden said 900,000 Americans have already died from Covid-19. It is therefore still necessary for the federal government to be able to react to the pandemic with all its might. (02/19/2022)
Federal government removes almost 20 countries from the risk list
The federal government removed almost 20 countries from the list of corona high-risk areas this Sunday, including Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and the USA. This was announced by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Tunisia, Morocco and India, among others, were also removed from the list. It is easier for travelers coming from countries that are no longer classified as high-risk areas to return to Germany. This time, no country is newly classified as a high-risk area.
Anyone entering the country from a high-risk area and not fully vaccinated – i.e. usually twice – or recovered, must be in quarantine for ten days and can free themselves from it at the earliest five days after entry with a negative test. For children who have not yet reached the age of six, the isolation ends automatically five days after entry. The classification as a high-risk area is linked to a travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office for non-essential tourist trips. It makes it easier for tourists to cancel trips that have already been booked free of charge, but does not mean that they are banned from travel.
Countries and regions with a particularly high risk of infection are classified as high-risk areas. However, it is not only the number of infections that is decisive for this. Other criteria are the speed at which the virus is spreading, the burden on the healthcare system and the lack of data on the corona situation. (02/18/2022)