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HEALTH

Germany set to lift travel warning for 31 countries

The German government wants to lift the worldwide travel warning for tourists for 31 European countries from June 15th, if the coronavirus situation continues to improve within Europe.

Published: 26 May 2020 09:43 CEST
Germany set to lift travel warning for 31 countries
Archive photo shows German tourists in Mallorca. Photo: DPA

In addition to Germany's 26 partner countries in the European Union, these include the UK, and the four states of the border-free Schengen area, which are not members of the EU: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. 

These are the findings of a draft policy paper entitled “Criteria for Enabling Intra-European Tourism”, which is to be adopted by Germany's Cabinet as early as Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) had issued the worldwide travel warning on March 17th – a step that is unprecedented to date – and extended it on April 29th.

READ ALSO: Germany extends worldwide travel tourist warning until mid-June

Until now, Germany has only issued travel warnings to areas which posed life danger, especially in war zones such as Syria or Afghanistan.

The lifting of the travel warning should give a starting signal for cross-border summer trips in Europe just in time for the holiday season. 

“The revival of tourism is important both for travellers and the German travel industry and for economic stability in the respective destination countries”, says the draft from the Federal Foreign Office.

The travel warning is to be replaced by individual travel advice, which will point out the risks for each individual country. 

Staying safe while travelling

In order to ensure the best possible protection of tourists against a coronavirus infection, the Federal Government intends to lobby the EU to adopt a number of common criteria.

Among other things, it proposes that the upper limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days be adopted by the other European countries. 

In Germany, exceeding this limit will lead to the reintroduction of anti-corona measures which have already been scraped.

READ ALSO: State by state: Where and when can I travel within Germany?

The paper also implores individual countries to develop “sustainable concepts” for the observance of distance rules and hand hygiene, the wearing of masks, and the ventilation and disinfection of rooms. 

The ideas should also include plans for holidaymakers who fall ill and provide evidence of sufficient test capacities, quarantine and treatment options. 

In addition, the paper recommends that safety measures for passengers and personnel, for example on airplanes, be implemented.

 

Member comments

  2. That’s what I would like to know. Are the Americans allowed to travel to Germany as well, and under guidelines?

  3. Yes Americans are included in
    The German government wants to lift the worldwide travel warning for tourists

  4. The USA is not in the list of 31 countries mentioned here, and quite frankly Germany and most European countries would be crazy to allow Americans in at this time. I am an American living in the USA, and I have dear friends in Germany I desperately wanted to visit this summer, but it is just not a sensible idea from their perspective. We have way too many uncontrolled infections, and there will be a huge spike by the middle of June from all of our Memorial Day celebrations.

  6. Portugal
    Reopening Date: reopen date 6 June
    Conditions: Controversially, the opening includes citizens of the United States, Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Venezuela, and the nations of the European Union—but excludes people from Italy and Spain.

    Sweden will also allow Americans being it was never official closed

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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