Covid travel restrictions Greece and nearly all of France no longer considered risk areas
Berlin · With German summer vacations beginning, more restrictions are being dropped for travel abroad. Important vacation destinations such as France and Greece and several others are no longer considered risk areas.
For travelers returning from France, Greece, Switzerland and other countries and regions, the regulations will be relaxed as of Sunday. Due to falling coronavirus infection rates, they will be removed from the list of risk areas, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
The German government is also taking Belgium, Norway and individual regions in Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain off the list, according to the report.
Rules for air travelers remain in place
Those coming to Germany from there by land will no longer have to observe any entry restrictions due to Covid in the future. The rules for air travelers, however, remain in place: Anyone entering by air, whether from a risk area or not, must present either a negative test result, proof of vaccination or proof of recovery before departure.
The German federal government regularly assesses the coronavirus situation abroad, distinguishing between "virus variant areas" where new coronavirus variants are spreading, "high incidence areas" with a seven-day incidence of more than 200, and "risk areas" with an incidence of more than 50.
Requirements for tests, registration and quarantine
This designation is important for the return trip from these countries, because the requirements for tests, registration and quarantine are based on it. For entry into the respective country, the local requirements apply, and these can be found on the website of the German Foreign Office.
In France, only a few overseas territories remain on the risk list. The entire European part of the country is removed. In the Netherlands, the coastal regions, Friesland, Zealand and Groningen come off the list, and in Denmark, the region of southern Denmark on the border with Germany. In Spain, Catalonia with the coastal city of Barcelona, which is popular with vacationers, and the Costa Brava, as well as Madrid, among others, will be considered risk-free from Sunday.
Even more countries on the list
Several regions of Slovenia, as well as all of Lithuania and Estonia, are also no longer designated as risk areas as of Sunday. This is because the number of new infections there has fallen below 50 per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. The same applies for Jordan, the Palestinian territories and St. Lucia in the Caribbean.
In some countries, however, the situation is worsening. Namibia in southern Africa moves to the highest risk level and is now considered a virus variant area. As a result, entry from there is heavily restricted. Oman has been designated a high-incidence area with mandatory quarantine.
Downgrading for some countries
Cape Verde, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Uganda are downgraded from high incidence areas to risk areas. This means that the general quarantine requirement no longer applies to these countries. Anyone entering from these countries can be exempted from this requirement.
Before returning home, returnees from risk areas, high incidence areas and variant areas must register online via an entry portal ("digital entry registration") and provide the travel destination and other data. Proof of vaccination, testing or recovery can be uploaded there. A quarantine obligation then applies at home. Those who are fully vaccinated or recovered are exempt. However, quarantine is always compulsory when entering from a variant area - such as Great Britain - whether vaccinated, recovered or not.
