Status: December 18, 2021 11:08 pm
In some countries, new regulations are already in place due to concerns about the Omikron variant. Now the health ministers of the federal states are calling for entry into Germany to be regulated more strictly – especially for virus variant areas.
The health ministers of the federal states have asked the federal government to issue stricter rules for entering Germany in order to curb the spread of the Omikron variant of the corona virus. Specifically, it concerns measures when entering from virus variant areas. The federal government is responsible for such a decision.
According to the decision of the ministers in a switching conference, travelers from the age of six who have been in an area classified as a virus variant area at the time of entry in the past ten days before entering Germany should present a negative PCR test certificate before departure. A rapid antigen test should no longer be permitted for this. The PCR test must not be more than 48 hours ago if you took off from abroad. This regulation should also apply to people who only transfer at an airport in the Federal Republic, it said.
For flights of more than five hours, according to the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute, an increased risk of infection can be assumed, so that different regulations for short and long-haul flights could be made when testing when entering from virus variant areas.
Grossbritannien Virus Variant Area
The state ministers also asked the federal government to campaign for the classification of Great Britain as a virus variant area at short notice, which happened in the evening. “I am very concerned about the developments in Great Britain. The Omikron virus variant is spreading rapidly there.” We must therefore act consistently and quickly, “said the Chairman of the Conference of Health Ministers, Bavaria’s head of department, Klaus Holetschek.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach welcomed the decision of his country colleagues and told the German Press Agency: “Making entry safer helps so that the Omikron variant does not spread as quickly. We cannot prevent the spread, only delay it. The longer it takes, until Omikron also has Germany under control, so much the better. “
Holetschek also emphasized that the spread of the Omikron variant must be delayed as long as possible. “There are still a lot of patients in the intensive care units who have been infected with the Delta variant,” said the CSU politician. Therefore, we have to prevent the introduction of the Omikron variant from the countries classified as virus variant areas by the federal government as well as possible. “
So far, no European countries are considered virus variant areas; according to the list of the Robert Koch Institute, these are currently countries such as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Omikron had been discovered in southern Africa.
The countries of Great Britain and Denmark, which have already been particularly affected by Omikron, had recorded record numbers of new infections in the past few days. From Sunday on, France and Denmark are high-risk areas due to the high number of corona infections. This also applies to Norway, Lebanon and Andorra, as the Robert Koch Institute announced on Friday.
High risk area – all but one of the neighbors
Anyone who enters from a high-risk area and is not fully vaccinated or recovered has to be in quarantine for ten days and can only get rid of it with a negative test five days after arrival at the earliest. With the exception of Luxembourg, all of Germany’s neighboring countries will be classified as high-risk areas in the future.
There are stricter rules when classifying a country as a virus variant area. Airlines are then essentially only allowed to carry German citizens or people living in Germany from there to Germany. But it is not a flight ban. A two-week quarantine obligation applies to those entering the country – including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. It cannot be shortened by negative tests either.
Health ministers are calling for stricter entry regulations
Jim-Bob Nickschas, ARD Berlin, December 18, 2021 3:50 p.m.