Berlin:
The German health authority announced late on Saturday that Britain has been added to the list of high-risk countries for Covid, which will mean stricter travel restrictions.
The decision comes in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, forcing London Mayor Sadiq Khan to declare a “major incident” in the British capital on Saturday.
The change, which will take effect at midnight Sunday at the end of the day, means that arrivals from Britain will have to observe a two-week quarantine regardless of whether they have been vaccinated, the country’s health authority Robert Koch said. Institute (RKI).
The UK is now considered a “variant zone” of Covid-19, a category reserved for countries where the risk is highest.
“The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are very much affected by Covid-19. A new variant has also been found, very contagious,” the German Foreign Ministry said on its website.
More than 65,000 new cases of Covid have been confirmed in London in the past seven days, with 26,418 cases reported in the past 24 hours – the highest number since the start of the pandemic.
Therefore, these areas, including the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, have been placed in the category of very high risk areas for 14 days.
In addition to the quarantine measure, only German citizens or foreigners living in Germany are allowed to enter the country from Great Britain.
The rule applies to all modes of transport and a PCR test will be required for all persons traveling to Germany.
Berlin’s new health minister, Karl Lauterbach, has already raised the alarm amid the risk of another wave that could soon sweep across the country, badly hit since the beginning of the fall.
“The more we can push back… the better,” he said on Saturday.
Several other European countries, including France, have already taken measures to restrict the entry of travelers from the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, German authorities have placed France and Denmark under “high risk” contamination zones, a level below the UK.
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