The 2021 holiday season is not an easy one. Even if the holiday went off without any problems, the next hurdle follows when you return to Germany. Travelers are classified differently. For example, between a stay in risk areas, high incidence areas and virus variant areas, depending on the situation other regulations apply. What all three cases have in common is that a digital entry registration must be completed.
“Totally illusory” to control all quarantine cases
This entry registration is used for pandemic management. It should be used to check whether tourists from high-incidence and virus variant areas are keeping their quarantine. Travelers from risk areas do not have to be quarantined, but their data is also recorded.
But in the holiday season, the health authorities cannot keep up with the processing of registrations. A request from the “world“In the ten largest German cities reveals massive gaps in the controls. Visiting all travelers returning is “completely illusory”, according to the Frankfurt health department.
Surf tip: You can find all the news about the corona pandemic in the news ticker from FOCUS Online
1.2 million letters: A flood of paper from returning travelers hits health authorities
In addition to the digital registrations, the offices are overwhelmed by a flood of paper. Because those who cannot register digitally have the option of filling out a so-called substitute notification. This is a one-page form that is filled out by hand. In contrast to the digital registration, here you are not asked for symptoms, but only for travel data.
If this document has not been checked by either the airline or the federal police, travelers have the option of re-registering digitally or sending the form by post a maximum of 24 hours after arrival – to the Federal Ministry of Health. From there, the documents are forwarded to the individual health authorities.
The analog variant results in a “significantly higher expenditure of time”, according to the Essen health department. It takes three to five days for the documents to reach you, and the evaluation takes another day. During this time, the quarantine obligation has already been fulfilled for some of those affected. Because returnees from high incidence areas can “free themselves” after five days.
Whether the postal registration is actually only used by people without digital options is the question: A total of 1.2 million substitute messages have been sent to the Federal Ministry of Health by post since November 2020. In total, around eight times as many people registered for immigration during the period.
“Emblematic of the state of digitization in Germany”
The number of substitute messages received by post is also so high that not everyone is checked upon arrival. At the airports, the airlines must check whether the entry requirements are met. However, only random checks are carried out at the border crossings. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) recently announced that he would like to monitor more closely. However, details of the implementation are not known.
The lack of verification meets with criticism from the Bundestag: “In the absence of effective controls, there are unfortunately hardly any hurdles to prevent false information or the disregard of the quarantine obligation,” said FDP member Roman Müller-Böhm. And further: “Many travelers apparently forego the entry registration.” The replacement message is symbolic of the state of digitization in Germany, so Müller-Böhm.
It remains unclear how many people were sanctioned because of incorrect or missing registration, the federal police and health authorities refer the responsibility to each other. One thing is clear: “Incorrect information can be prosecuted as an administrative offense with a fine of up to 25,000 euros.”