At the beginning of the main holiday season, there are again easing of entry. From this Wednesday on, the federal government is downgrading several countries that were last considered virus variant areas to high incidence areas. This applies to Portugal, Great Britain, as well as Russia, India and Nepal.
What does this mean for travelers?
The status as a virus variant area brings with it the strictest currently possible restrictions on entry to Germany. Airlines as well as shipping, bus and train companies are only allowed to bring German citizens or people residing in Germany across the border from the affected countries. These returnees, in turn, all have to be quarantined for 14 days after arrival. This requirement in particular means that virus variant areas are hardly considered for a vacation, even for people with a high personal willingness to take risks. On the other hand, travelers from high-incidence areas are allowed to free themselves from the otherwise ten-day quarantine after five days – for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, it is waived from the start.
Why are these changes coming now?
The virus variant area status was introduced in Germany in winter in response to the discovery and spread of mutants in different parts of the world. Their introduction should be prevented as far as possible. The RKI criteria for classification speak of the spread of a variant which must be considered particularly dangerous and “does not occur at the same time in Germany”. In particular, Delta is also being detected more and more often in new infections in this country. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn announced for Portugal and Great Britain last week that their classification would be adjusted as soon as the proportion of the Delta variant in Germany was comparable.
What is currently the case for other holiday countries?
In Europe in particular, there have recently been many signs of relaxation. The EU Covid certificate has been in effect since July 1, and the federal government has lifted the automatic travel warning for dozens of countries. Popular summer destinations such as Italy, Austria, France or Denmark are no longer even considered “easy” risk areas and Germans can travel in both directions without quarantine. The Federal Foreign Office provides information in his travel and safety information about specifications in the target countries, the RKI updates regularly its international risk list.
Many popular travel destinations in Europe are no longer considered a risk area – beach on Mallorca.
(Photo: Enrique Calvo / REUTERS)
How quickly can rules change again?
The Portugal case did not only lead to unrest among directly affected German holidaymakers. It showed how quickly the status of a travel destination can change even in the supposedly carefree summer of 2021. Immediately before the declaration of the virus variant area, large parts of Portugal were not even “simple” risk areas. The threshold for classification as a risk area is a seven-day incidence of 50, the high-incidence area of 200. These values are not the only decisive factor, according to the RKI, measures on site, test capacities and other data are also included in the assessment. The German regulations on the obligation to quarantine currently apply until July 28, 2021.