The Federal Republic of Germany just added six more countries to its list of ‘High Risk Areas’. This step has implications for travelers. Four countries were removed from the list.
Berlin, December 24th, 2021 (The Berlin Spectator) — Exactly one year ago, on Christmas Eve of 2020, Germany registered 32,195 new Corona infections. Back then, there was fear of a third Corona wave. But since the vaccinations commenced during the last days of 2020, there was hope things would improve soon. Today, a year later, there are 35,431 new infections, even though not all health authorities report their numbers during the Christmas holiday, and a fifth wave with a new, far more contagious Corona variant is around the corner. Things do not look better than a year ago, but worse.
Implications for Travelers
In other countries, the fifth wave is already hitting. Those include Portugal and Spain, the United States of America, Cyprus, Finland and Monaco. All of these countries are now High Risk Areas from the perspective of Germany. What this means is that people are advised not to go there. Persons who return from these countries need to follow rules. First of all, they have to go into quarantine for 10 days, unless they are fully vaccinated (at least 2 shots) or recently recovered from Corona.
After five days, those who are in quarantine may get out if they test negative. Children under the age of 12 get out automatically after five days. Whoever travels to Germany from the countries mentioned, or from other ‘High Risk Areas’, needs to register online beforehand. Some countries are being taken off the list right now: Austria, Belize, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Malaysia and Serbia are regular countries now, since the Corona situation there improved to some extent.
Thuringia Remains Hotspot
Apart from ‘High Risk Areas’, there are ‘Virus Variant Areas’. Germany classified South Africa, seven other African countries and the United Kingdom as such. Only German citizens and holders of residence permits may enter the Federal Republic of Germany from there. Everyone who does needs to go into quarantine for two weeks. There is no ‘get out of quarantine for free card’, not even for vaccinated individuals. The other ‘Virus Variant areas’ are Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
During the Christmas holiday, not all hospitals and health authorities in Germany report their numbers. At least 370 Corona patients died since yesterday. The federal state of Thuringia is Germany’s Corona hotspot. Its Seven day Incidence is 677.4. Berlin’s Incidence decreased a little, for the first time in nine days. It now stands at 322.3, which is still a lot higher than the national average, which just decreased to 265.8.
Restrictions to Kick In
On Tuesday, December 28th, new Corona rules will be put in place in Germany. Those include new contact restrictions and the closure of all clubs and discotheques. Experts are expecting the fifth wave to hit in early January. The Omicron mutation of Corona is already spreading in Germany.
Note: Since the editing software we use cannot handle the size of our Corona Chronology for 2021 anymore, we already are in 2022. Looking for the daily Corona update for Germany? Find it here.
ALL CORONA CHRONOLOGIES:
Corona Chronology for Germany, 2022 (from Dec. 22nd, 2021)
Corona Chronology for Germany, 2021
Corona Chronology for Germany, 2020
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