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Germany adds Belgium’s coronavirus-hit Antwerp to quarantine list

Germany on Wednesday put Belgium's Antwerp province on its list of coronavirus risk zones, requiring travellers arriving from the region to go into quarantine for 14 days unless they can produce a negative COVID-19 test.

Published: 6 August 2020 09:11 CEST

Germany adds Belgium's coronavirus-hit Antwerp to quarantine list

Woman talking to each other from their balconies on March 20th during Belgium's lockdown. Photo: DPA

The foreign ministry said “the trend in the number of new infections and new deaths has been rising again since the end of July, particularly in the Antwerp province”.

“The number of new infections has passed 50 cases per 100,000 residents.”

That prompted Germany's disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute “to declare this area a risk zone” the ministry added.

“Due to that, there is a requirement for quarantine in Germany, that one can avoid through a negative COVID-19 test.”

The number of coronavirus patients admitted to Belgium's intensive care units has doubled in a month and the epidemic is spreading “intensively”, health officials said Monday.

READ ALSO: What's it like travelling in Germany and crossing borders in Covid times?

Belgium suffered one of the highest per capita rates of infection at the height of COVID-19's progress through Europe but began easing lockdown measures in May after the disease peaked.

Now, cases are climbing once again and the country of 11 million has postponed plans to further ease anti-virus measures, while imposing tougher controls in the port city of Antwerp.

Out of a population of around 11 million, 9,852 have died.

Anyone currently arriving in Germany from areas considered to be at high risk must produce a negative coronavirus test or go into quarantine for 14 days.

In a blow to tourism in Spain, Germany last week added three northern Spanish regions to its high-risk destination list.

Germany, which has seen just over 9,000 COVID-19 deaths, has drawn up strict rules to limit transmission of the new coronavirus, with cases rising above 500 per day in recent weeks.

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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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