Due to the pandemic, summer vacation 2020 will turn out differently for most of them. Instead of the density of sights and hotel reviews, the infection numbers are the decisive criteria for choosing the holiday destination.
An important point of reference for this is the list of risk areas of the Robert Koch Institute. There, the top German health authority for infectious diseases lists the areas where there is an increased risk of infection with Sars-CoV-2. Anyone returning to Germany from one of these countries must undergo a virus test on Saturday (August 8) when they return to Germany and also count on quarantine.
The risk areas currently also include several countries that are otherwise known as holiday destinations:
(As of August 6)
In addition, among the Corona risk areas there are many less touristy countries, for example in Africa or South America such as Angola, Ivory Coast and Ghana as well as Chile, Colombia and Paraguay. You can find the complete list of countries classified as particularly risky here.
Since the assessment of the likelihood of infection can change constantly in the individual countries, the RKI generally calls travelers to find out about the situation on site before starting their trip – also on the website of the Federal Foreign Office. Germany itself does not call the RKI a risk area for Sars-CoV-2.
When is a country considered a Covid 19 risk area?
The RKI explains that a country is classified as a risk area after a joint analysis and decision by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior. It is based on a two-stage evaluation:
- First, the offices determine in which states or regions there were more than 50 newly infected people per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days.
- In a second step, they probe whether there is an increased risk for other areas – even if they are nominally below the specified limit. In case of doubt, there are indications of this, for example, in the reports by the German diplomatic missions abroad about effective measures that have been taken or not taken to contain the pandemic. The test capacities available also play a role.
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Worldwide travel warning has been lifted
The federal government has lifted its worldwide travel warning. Individual travel advice has been in effect for the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein since June 15. The countries themselves decide on possible entry bans.
In addition, after weeks of hesitation, the federal government has also lifted the travel warning for the most important Turkish holiday areas. Since August 4, it no longer applies to the provinces of Antalya, Izmir, Aydin and Mugla. However, all travelers to Turkey must have themselves tested for possible corona infection at their own expense and adhere to additional safety requirements within 48 hours before their return.
For trips to other countries, the Office recently extended the travel warning until August 31, 2020 inclusive. In some countries there are still restrictions on international air and travel traffic, it is said to justify. The authority emphasizes that the risk that travelers will not be able to start their return journey due to increasing restrictions is currently high in many destinations.
How to reduce the risk of infection on site
Virologists consider a vacation in summer to be justifiable despite the pandemic – provided you are not traveling to a risk area and stick to the measures, as Professor Friedemann Weber emphasizes in an interview with FOCUS Online. “You have to be careful and keep your distance. But most of them are aware of this, so I see no reason to cancel the vacation. "
In addition to the hygiene and distance rules, it can then make sense to spend your vacation separately from other guests in a holiday apartment instead of a large hotel. Or to travel to the vacation spot by car instead of the plane. Both of these reduce the number of social contacts and thus the risk of infection.