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German health experts warn against travel to Covid Delta variant areas

As travel begins to open up in Germany, doctors are urging people to avoid visiting places where the Delta Covid variant is rampant.

German health experts warn against travel to Covid Delta variant areas
A British Airways flight departing from Heathrow in May. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/PA Wire | Steve Parsons

The German Medical Association’s chief spoke out to advise against tourist travel to areas where the more contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 is circulating. 

“Travel to regions that are particularly affected by the Delta variant should be avoided,” President Klaus Reinhardt told the Funke Media Group on Tuesday.

Germany is reopening its borders on Friday to non-EU nationals who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, ramping up the possibility of travel for many.

Currently, only those with exceptional reasons are allowed into the country.

But those coming from countries listed as ‘virus variant areas of concern’ will not be able to enjoy the new rules as entry bans will still apply. 

Countries including the the UK and India are currently on the list of virus variant areas. Travellers who are allowed to enter Germany – such as residents and citizens – must go into quarantine for 14 days and cannot end their self-isolation early with a negative test even if they are fully vaccinated.

READ ALSO: Delta variant – how worried should Germany be about a new wave of cases? 

The Our World in Data chart below gives an idea of Covid cases per million people in Germany compared to some variant risk countries and the US. 

The RKI updates the list of risk countries regularly.

The Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is now spreading rapidly in some countries, including the UK. According to estimates by health specialists in the UK, it is anywhere between 30 percent and 100 percent more infectious than the previously dominant Alpha variant.

Reinhardt agreed with predictions from other experts that the Delta variant will also prevail over the Alpha variant in Germany in the medium term.

The Alpha variant was first detected in England and went on to fuel Germany’s second and third wave. 

Currently Delta is estimated to count for about six to seven percent of new cases in Germany, and 90 percent of cases in Britain.

It can also be assumed that the number of infections will rise again in Germany at the end of the summer due to seasonal factors, said Reinhardt.

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But whether there will be a fourth wave of the pandemic in Germany depends largely on the progress of the vaccination campaign. Currently, more than 30 percent of the population is fully jabbed and over half have received one dose. 

Even if the number of infections rises exponentially again, it’s expected that there will be less severe courses of the disease because vulnerable groups in particular – such as the elderly and those with previous illnesses – are better protected by vaccinations.

However, with a view to pupils returning to classrooms fully after the summer holidays, people in Germany must “do everything they can to prevent a sharp rise in the number of infections, as is currently the case in the United Kingdom,” Reinhardt said.

He advised that all adults should take advantage of the vaccination offer in Germany, and also have the second dose in due course. 

Reinhardt acknowledged that for many people, holidays are important for mental health after the stress of the past months. “It is necessary, however, to observe hygiene rules, even in the vacation resort,” he said. 

On Tuesday the number of cases per 100,000 people in Germany within seven days dropped to 8.0, according to the RKI. A week ago, the incidence was 15.5.

A total of 455 new infections were reported within the last 24 hours, while, 77 deaths connected to Covid-19 were registered.

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TRAVEL NEWS

No Easter strikes: Germany’s Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

German airline giant Lufthansa and a union representing ground staff said Wednesday they had reached an agreement on pay after a lengthy dispute, averting the threat of Easter holiday strikes.

No Easter strikes: Germany's Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

The deal between the carrier and the powerful Verdi union came after ground staff staged walkouts in recent months, leading to widespread disruption for air travellers.

After a series of direct pay talks failed, Lufthansa and Verdi entered arbitration this week, leading to Wednesday’s breakthrough.

Details of the deal were not immediately released.

But Lufthansa personnel chief Michael Niggemann said it was a “good compromise with substantial salary increases over the term of the agreement”.

Verdi had been seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the roughly 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff that it represents.

The ground staff staged their latest strike in early March, with a two-day walkout that led to the cancellation of up to 90 percent of Lufthansa’s flights. They also walked out in February.

Lufthansa cabin crew, who went on strike at major airports earlier this month, have still not reached a pay deal with the carrier.

But news outlet Spiegel reported that the airline group and the UFO union, which represents cabin crew, are due to enter arbitration after the Easter break.

The airline group earlier this month warned of the damaging impact of the wave of recent strikes, saying they would contribute to heavier losses in the first quarter compared to last year.

Lufthansa also faced a wave of strikes in 2022 by staff pushing for higher wages, leading to them winning hefty wage increases.

The group — whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines — had to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it has since bounced back strongly as travel has recovered, prompting unions to argue the airline is not passing on enough of its bumper earnings to its staff in the form of pay rises.

Wednesday’s announcement represents some more much-needed good news for employers in Europe’s top economy, who have faced a tough season of wage negotiations and strikes across many sectors.

This week, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and union GDL struck an agreement that will see train drivers work a shorter week, ending a months-long row that caused a series of crippling strikes.

The strikes have added to an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent in 2023.

READ ALSO: ‘A difficult road’: Strike-hit German rail operator agrees to shorter work week

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