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Germany declares Belgium, most of France and parts of UK coronavirus ‘risk’ zones

More regions have been added to Germany's list of coronavirus unsafe areas, including parts of the UK and France.

Published: 1 October 2020 08:53 CEST
Germany declares Belgium, most of France and parts of UK coronavirus 'risk' zones
Passengers travelling from Frankfurt this summer. Photo: DPA

On Wednesday, Germany declared another neighbouring country a coronavirus risk area. And that is by no means all. In fact the number of potential holiday destinations abroad are dwindling. Even the end of the blanket travel warning for 160 countries, slated to be repealed on Thursday, will not change this.

Now the whole of Belgium, Iceland and individual regions in nine other European countries have been classed as risk regions due to rising infection figures.

READ ALSO: 'Life as we know it will return': Merkel makes emotional appeal for more caution during coronavirus crisis

On Wednesday evening, Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control updated its risk list. It now includes:

– Wales and Northern Ireland

– In France, the regions of Pays de la Loire and Burgundy (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) have been added. This means that in Germany's largest neighbouring country, only the border region of Grand Est is now not classified as a risk area.


– In Belgium, the capital Brussels was recently listed as a risk area. But now the whole country is classed as a risk zone. That means it particularly affects German border regions in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.

– For the first time, the German government included areas in the two Baltic states of Lithuania (Šiaulių) and Estonia (Idu-Viru) on the risk list. More regions in Ireland (the border region), Slovenia (Koroska), Hungary (Csongrád, Vas and Pest) and Romania (Alba and Cluj) were also added.

For the new risk areas in Europe, the Federal Foreign Office is warning people in Germany against non-essential travel there.

Meanwhile, the blanket travel warning for more than 160 countries outside the EU and the border-free Schengen area is being lifted from October 1st.

This means that each country in the world is now assessed individually. But anyone who thinks that this will make long-distance travel much easier again is mistaken. For holidaymakers, hardly anything will change – countries with high infection rates will remain 'risk zones' according to German authorities.

A list of the regions considered risk areas across Europe and the world can be found on the RKI website, which is updated regularly.

READ ALSO:

No longer risk regions

But with all the bad news about rising infection rates and new travel warnings, there is also good news: For Fribourg in Switzerland as well as the Croatian holiday destinations Zadar and Sibenik-Knin, the status as high risk areas has been lifted, meaning there is no warning against travelling there.

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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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