The risk assessments by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) remain the basis of the new warning system. You can find the full list of the current risk areas here.
Travel warnings: There will be three categories in the future
- Travel warning: It is only pronounced for those countries that exceeded the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days. This currently applies entirely to 123 countries and partially to 15. Travel warnings are not a travel ban, but are intended to have the greatest possible deterrent effect on tourists. The good for the vacationer: He can cancel a trip that has already been booked if his destination is declared a risk area. The bad: Returnees from the risk areas have to be tested and in quarantine until the result is there. From October 15th the test should take place five days after your return at the earliest. That can mean a quarantine for almost a week.
- "Travel warning light": Travel is not recommended for around 50 other countries, regardless of the infection situation. The reason: There are still entry restrictions or an exit ban in the EU. This group of states includes, for example, the popular winter holiday country Thailand, where there are hardly any corona infections, but foreign tourists also have to stay outside.
- No warning: The bottom line is that there won't be many countries left for which travel is neither warned nor advised against – especially because new travel warnings are currently being issued in Europe every few days. In the meantime, only nine of Germany's 26 partner countries in the EU are completely free of risk areas and travel warnings.
When returning from these travel regions, neither tests nor quarantine are necessary
After all, a few popular vacation destinations fall into the last category: Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta as well as outside Europe the country Tunisia. However, German vacationers have to present a negative corona test upon entry and then go into home quarantine for a week – until a negative result of a second corona test.
There is also for the Turkish holiday areas on the Mediterranean an exception for several weeks. Since the beginning of August 2020, the Seychelles have again allowed entry from countries with a low and medium Covid-19 risk, which Germany is currently one of. Surf tip: You can find all the news about the corona pandemic in the news ticker from FOCUS Online
Health Minister Spahn advises against all trips abroad
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn recently advised against traveling abroad during the autumn and winter holidays due to the increasing number of corona infections. "You can also go on vacation in Germany," said the CDU politician in the ZDF "Morgenmagazin".
The government's travel warnings for high-risk areas say that unnecessary trips should be avoided and that these are vacation trips. In the corona pandemic, it has been shown time and time again that return travelers are increasingly bringing in the virus.
Maas issued a worldwide travel warning on March 17th
The global travel warning due to the corona pandemic was issued on March 17 by Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) after numerous borders were closed, flight connections were cut and tens of thousands of Germans were stuck abroad. On June 15, the regulation was lifted for most European countries. Since October 1st it has been canceled entirely.