Germany on Tuesday (Jan.4) eased in travel restriction for travellers entering from a series of countries with particularly high rates of omicron infections.
The nine nations were removed from Germany’s list of “virus variant areas,” including Britain and South Africa as well as several other southern African states, that had been placed on the list of areas of variant concern earlier. Airlines and others are restricted largely to transporting German citizens and residents from countries on that list. All arrivals must self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of vaccination status.
Germany’s national disease control centre had announced on Thursday last week that it planned to downgrade the countries’ risk status but said at the time that “short-term changes” were possible.
They have now been added to Germany’s list of “high-risk areas, under the rules for travellers from high-risk areas, people who can show proof of vaccination does not need to isolate. Unvaccinated travellers need to quarantine for 10 days but can shorten it to five if they test negative.
Germany had previously brought down a surge in coronavirus cases in November and early December after implementing a series of restrictions aimed particularly at unvaccinated people.
However, cases have once again begun to climb, with the Robert Koch Institute recording a rise in the last few days.
Although early reports suggest that the omicron variant has milder effects than previous forms of the virus, its highly contagious nature risks overwhelming health services.
Almost 40% of people in Germany have received a booster vaccine already, which data suggests offers increased protection. However, around 25% of people remain unvaccinated.
