Domestic risk areas: Rising corona numbers make vacation in Germany more difficult | message
The majority of the federal states decided on Wednesday that holidaymakers from within Germany from risk areas could only be accommodated if they had a negative corona test no more than 48 hours old. This should take effect for travelers from areas with more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days.
However, five countries made divergent statements on the decision. Thringen made it clear that it does not want to support an accommodation ban, at least Berlin does not want to get on board immediately. Lower Saxony and Bremen want to examine. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to stick to even stricter quarantine rules. “Eleven countries are already involved, some countries still need coordination within the state government, so I have the hope that more countries will be added,” said Gnther. With the regulation that has now been made, the situation is much clearer.
Bavaria is one of the supporters of the decision, with a ban on accommodation for travelers from four Berlin districts, from Bremen and from the cities of Hamm and Remscheid in North Rhine-Westphalia. Anyone who comes from one of the inner-German corona hotspots and can show a negative corona test is still welcome, it said from Munich.
Thringen’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) criticized the regulation. The local health department must assess how bad the situation actually is, he said on Wednesday evening in the ZDF “heute journal”. A strong outbreak in one facility could push the limits of the entire region upwards. “That’s why you can’t hold the rest of the whole district liable for it.” When asked whether what was decided on Wednesday was “nonsense”, the left-wing politician said: “Yes, that’s what I say.”
The President of the German Association of Cities, Burkhard Jung, spoke out in favor of introducing a tiered concept with even stricter rules. From a critical value of 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, for example, alcohol bans in public places make sense, Jung told the “Rheinische Post”. “The mask requirement in schools could then be introduced or the possibility of visiting old people’s and nursing homes could be restricted again so that Corona does not get out of hand on site,” emphasized the Leipzig mayor. A mask requirement in pedestrian zones is also considered, because there many people move in a tight space.
However, Jung like Ramelow advises differentiating the measures, depending on where the infections come from. “If, for example, I have numerous infections in a certain company, it is not mandatory to wear a mask in the pedestrian zone or in the classroom lies.”
The joint decision paper – on which the five mentioned countries had made different declarations – states, among other things:
* It is stated that the increase in numbers “must be countered consistently”, above all in order to keep the economy, schools and daycare centers running.
* Previous resolutions by the federal government and the states from May, June and July and the corresponding “hotspot strategy”, which states that restrictions will be issued if the number of new corona infections in a district exceeds the limit of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants, are confirmed in the past seven days.
* Citizens are requested to avoid unnecessary travel to and from particularly affected areas.
* The majority of countries agree to stipulate that tourists from such areas may only be accommodated in a hotel if they can present a negative test that is no more than two days old. Such “free testing” for travel should only be possible if there are enough test options. Tests to maintain the education system, for example, have priority.
Citizens from places with very high numbers of corona infections have to be prepared for considerable difficulties when traveling on vacation within Germany. But traveling abroad is anything but easy. After the list of corona risk areas has been updated, the bottom line is that there are only a few countries left for which travel is neither warned nor advised against. These include the popular holiday destinations Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta.
On Wednesday evening, the German government declared all of Romania, Tunisia, Georgia and Jordan as well as individual regions in seven EU countries to be risk areas. In addition, all five Dutch provinces that border Germany are now also affected. For the first time, parts of Slovakia were declared risk areas. In Slovenia, the capital Ljubljana was added, as well as regions in Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania and Bulgaria. The Foreign Office issued a travel warning for all of these areas.
/ sax / DP / e.g.
dpa-AFX
Image sources: Bernd Juergens / Shutterstock.com
