When traveling on vacation within Germany, citizens from places with very high numbers of corona infections must expect significant restrictions in autumn. The majority of the countries decided on Wednesday that such travelers may only be accommodated if they have a negative corona test that is 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. Family visits and commuting for professional purposes are expressly excluded from the regulation.
Which federal states have issued an accommodation ban for holidaymakers?
Proponents of the ban include:
- Baden-Wuerttemberg
- Bavaria
- Brandenburg
- Hamburg
- Hesse
- Lower Saxony
- Rhineland-Palatinate
- Saarland
- Saxony
- Saxony-Anhalt
- Schleswig-Holstein
The majority of these federal states decided that for Travelers from inner-German Corona hotspots are prohibited from staying in hotels, youth accommodation and pensions.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) defended the accommodation ban for people from inner-German risk areas on Wednesday. The main concern is people's safety and security for the tourism industry.
When can I still enter from a risk area?
That is basically possible. Who at the beginning of his journey a can show a negative corona test no longer than 48 hours old, is also allowed to vacation as a guest from a Corona hotspot in the said federal states. "If you arrive with a negative test, you can enjoy a vacation," said Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder. There is also no quarantine obligation.
Which federal states do not participate?
Bremen, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia submitted minutes of the decision. The country Bremen, Which even exceeded the 50 mark on Wednesday, said whether the decision would ultimately be supported will only be discussed in the Senate.
For the time being no accommodation ban in North Rhine-Westphalia
There will be a ban on accommodation for travelers from risk areas North Rhine-Westphalia according to the state chancellery boss Nathanael Liminski (CDU) initially not give.
"There is no automatism," said Liminski after a switching conference of the heads of the state chancelleries of the countries with Chancellery chief Helge Braun (CDU) on Wednesday. This instrument can be used if the NRW Ministry of Health identifies certain regions accordingly. For this there must be a "persistently diffuse infection process". The country's Corona Protection Ordinance has provided this option since July. If the mark of more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants is reached within seven days, this is not necessarily the trigger for an accommodation ban.
Also read: Everyone is focusing on Corona hotspots: Epidemiologist explains why this is wrong
Ban on accommodation: What the states have decided
The joint decision paper – on which the five countries mentioned 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 and state governments 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 past seven days.
- Citizens are urged to avoid unnecessary travel to and from particularly affected areas.
- The majority of the countries agree to regulate 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 possibilities. 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 updating the list of corona risk areas, the bottom line is that only a few countries remain for which travel is neither warned nor advised against. These include the popular holiday countries Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta.