The federal government has classified the whole of the Netherlands, almost all of France and, for the first time, regions in Italy and Poland as corona risk areas from Saturday. In addition, Malta and Slovakia will then be placed on the risk list as well as individual regions in nine other EU countries, as the Robert Koch Institute announced on its website on Thursday.
These include eight cantons in Switzerland, including the canton of Zurich bordering Germany, areas in Sweden and Finland for the first time, and further regions in Great Britain, Ireland, Croatia, Portugal, Slovenia and Hungary.
It was expected that the Federal Foreign Office would issue a travel warning for all new risk areas that night. The designation to the risk area and the automatically associated travel warnings do not mean a travel ban, but should have the greatest possible deterrent effect on tourists. The good thing for vacationers: they can cancel a trip that has already been booked if their destination is declared a risk area. The bad: Returnees from the risk areas currently have to be in quarantine for 14 days, but can be freed from it prematurely with a negative test.
The quarantine rules should only be changed on November 8th – after the autumn break. Then there is a ten-day quarantine and you will only be able to be "freed" from it on the fifth day after your return.
The main changes on the risk list are:
France becomes a risk area and is only "risk-free" overseas
In France, Corsica and the Grand Est border region, which was particularly hard hit at the beginning of the corona pandemic, are the last regions in the European part of France to be placed on the risk list. Of the five overseas departments, only the island of Mayotte off Africa in the Indian Ocean will then be “risk-free”, plus a few autonomous overseas territories. President Emmanuel Macron had already announced new countermeasures on Wednesday evening. From Saturday, there is a curfew in Paris and other metropolises from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Even before the border region was officially classified as a risk area, according to French media reports, there were increasing numbers of shopping trips to Germany. The Alsatian newspaper "Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace" reported on traffic jams. The Grand Est region includes Alsace and Lorraine, among others. It borders on Baden-Württemberg, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Germany surrounded by corona risk areas
With the addition of five Polish regions including the metropolises of Gdansk and Krakow, none of Germany's nine neighboring countries will be without risk areas from Saturday. However, unlike the French, the Polish border areas are still spared. In both regions, new border closings, such as during the first wave of pandemics in spring, are feared.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) countered such fears on Thursday at a meeting with the foreign ministers of France and Poland in Paris. "I think we all had bad experiences in the spring of this year with the closing of borders too quickly – both on the German-Polish and the German-French border," he said. «We know that there are a lot of commuters who travel back and forth between our countries – to work. And that's why we don't want to repeat the mistakes we made again. "
Partial corona lockdown in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Zeeland on the North Sea is now the last province to become a risk area. Prime Minister Mark Rutte had already announced a “partial lockdown” on Tuesday due to the drastic increase in numbers. Pubs, cafes and restaurants will be closed and the sale of alcohol will be banned after 8 p.m. In addition, citizens are only allowed to receive a maximum of three guests per day in their apartments and should only use buses and trains in urgent cases.
List of risk areas of the Robert Koch Institute (as of October 16, 2020)
- Afghanistan (since June 15)
- Egypt (since June 15)
- Albania (since June 15)
- Algeria (since June 15)
- Andorra – the Principality of Andorra (since August 26th)
- Angola (since June 15)
- Equatorial Guinea (since June 15)
- Argentina (since June 15)
- Armenia (since June 15)
- Azerbaijan (since June 15)
- Ethiopia (since June 15)
- Bahamas (since June 15)
- Bahrain (since June 15)
- Bangladesh (since June 15)
- Belarus (since June 15)
- Belgium – the whole country (since September 30th)
- Belize (since June 15)
- Benin (since June 15)
- Bhutan (since June 15)
- Bolivia (since June 15)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (since June 15)
- Brazil (since June 15)
Bulgaria – the following administrative districts ("oblasts") are currently considered to be risk areas:
- Blagoevgrad (since August 7th)
- Targovishte (since October 7th)
- Burkina Faso (since June 15)
- Burundi (since June 15)
- Cabo Verde (since July 3rd)
- Chile (since June 15)
- Costa Rica (since June 15)
- Côte d'Ivoire (since June 15)
Denmark – the following regions are currently considered risk areas:
- Region Hovedstaden (since September 23)
- Dominican Republic (since June 15)
- Djibouti (since June 15)
- Ecuador (since June 15)
- El Salvador (since June 15)
- Eritrea (since June 15)
Estonia – the following regions are currently considered risk areas:
- Ida-Viru (since September 30th)
- Eswatini (since June 15)
Finland – the following regions are currently considered risk areas:
- Region Österbotten (since October 17th)
France – the following regions are currently considered as risk areas:
- Total continental France (since October 17th)
- Overseas Territory: French Guiana (since August 21)
- Overseas Territory: Guadeloupe (since August 26th)
- Overseas Territory: St. Martin (since August 26)
- Overseas Territory: Reunion Island (since September 16)
- Overseas Territory: Martinique (since October 17th)
- Gabon (since June 15)
- Gambia (since June 15)
- Georgia (since October 7th)
- Ghana (since June 15)
- Guatemala (since June 15)
- Guinea (since June 15)
- Guinea Bissau (since June 15)
- Guyana (since June 15)
- Haiti (since June 15)
- Honduras (since June 15)
- India (since June 15)
- Indonesia (since June 15)
- Iraq (since June 15)
Ireland – the following regions are currently considered as risk areas:
- Region Border (since September 30)
- Dublin region (since September 23)
- Midlands Region (since October 17)
- Mid-East Region (since October 17)
- Mid-West Region (since October 17)
- South-West Region (since October 17)
- West region (since October 17)
- Iran (since June 15)
- Iceland (since September 30)
- Israel (since July 3)
Italy – the following regions are currently considered risk areas:
- Campania region (since October 17th)
- Liguria region (since October 17th)
- Jamaica (since June 15)
- Yemen (since June 15)
- Jordan (since October 7th)
- Cameroon (since June 15)
- Kazakhstan (since June 15)
- Qatar (since June 15)
- Kenya (since June 15)
- Kyrgyzstan (since June 15)
- Colombia (since June 15)
- Comoros (since June 15)
- Congo DR (since June 15)
- Congo Rep (since June 15)
- Korea, People's Republic (since June 15)
- Kosovo (since June 15)
Croatia – the following counties are currently considered risk areas:
- Dubrovnik-Neretva (since September 9th)
- Grad (city) Zagreb (since October 17th)
- Krapinsko-zagorska županija (since October 7th)
- Lika-Senj (since September 23)
- Međimurska (since October 17)
- Požega Slavonia (since September 9th)
- Sisačko-moslavačka (since October 7th)
- Split-Dalmatia (since August 20)
- Virovitica-Podravina (since September 16)
- Vukovarsko-srijemska (since October 7th)
- Kuwait (since June 15)
- Lesotho (since June 15)
- Lebanon (since June 15)
- Liberia (since June 15)
- Libya (since June 15)
Lithuania – the following counties are currently considered risk areas:
- Kaunas (since October 7th)
- Šiaulių (since September 30th)
- Luxembourg (July 14th – August 20th and since September 25th)
- Madagascar (since June 15)
- Malawi (since June 15)
- Maldives (since July 17th)
- Mali (since June 15)
- Malta (since October 17th)
- Morocco (since June 15)
- Mauritania (since June 15)
- Mexico (since June 15)
- Mongolia (since June 15)
- Montenegro (June 15-19 and since July 17)
- Mozambique (since June 15)
- Nepal (since June 15)
- Nicaragua (since June 15)
- Netherlands – the entire country (including the autonomous countries) (since October 17)
- Niger (since June 15)
- Nigeria (since June 15)
- North Macedonia (since June 15)
- Oman (since June 15)
Austria – the following federal states are currently considered risk areas:
- State of Vienna (since September 16)
- State of Vorarlberg (since September 23rd) with the exception of the community Mittelberg / Kleinwalsertal (since October 2nd)
- State of Tyrol (since September 25th) with the exception of the Jungholz community (since October 2)
- Pakistan (since June 15)
- Palestinian Territories (since July 3)
- Panama (since June 15)
- Papua New Guinea (since June 17)
- Paraguay (since June 15)
- Peru (since June 15)
- Philippines (since June 15)
Poland – the following regions are currently considered risk areas:
- Kujawsko-pomorskie (since October 17)
- Małopolskie (since October 17th)
- Podlaski (since October 17th)
- Pomorskie (since October 17th)
- Świętokrzyskie (since October 17)
Portugal – the following regions are currently considered to be at risk:
- Region (Greater Lisbon) (since September 23)
- Norte (since October 17th)
- Republic of Moldova (since June 15)
- Romania – the entire country (since October 7th)
- Russian Federation (since June 15)
- Zambia (since June 15)
- São Tomé and Príncipe (since June 16)
- Saudi Arabia (since June 15)
Sweden – the following provinces are currently considered risk areas:
- Jämtland (since October 17th)
- Stockholm (since October 17th)
- Uppsala (since October 17th)
- Örebro (since October 17th)
Switzerland – the following cantons are considered risk areas:
- Friborg (since October 17th)
- Geneva (since September 9th)
- Jura (since October 17th)
- Neuchâtel (since October 17th)
- Nidwalden (since October 17th)
- Schwyz (since October 17th)
- Uri (since October 17th)
- Waadt (Vaud) (since September 9th)
- Zurich (since October 17th)
- Zug (since October 17th)
- Senegal (since June 15)
- Serbia (since June 15)
- Sierra Leone (since June 15)
- Zimbabwe (since June 15)
- Slovakia – the whole country (since October 17)
Slovenia – the following regions are considered risk areas:
- Gorenjska (since October 7th)
- Jugovzhodna Slovenija (since October 17th)
- Koroška (since September 30th)
- Osrednjeslovenska since October 7th)
- Primorsko-Notranjska (since September 23)
- Podravska (since October 17th)
- Pomurska (since October 17th)
- Savinjska (since October 7th)
- Zasavska (since October 7th)
- Somalia (since June 15)
- Spain – all of Spain, including the Canary Islands (since September 2nd)
- South Africa (since June 15)
- Sudan (since June 15)
- South Sudan (since June 15)
- Suriname (since June 15)
- Syrian Arab Republic (since June 15)
- Tajikistan (since June 15)
- Tanzania (since June 15)
- Czech Republic – all of the Czech Republic (since September 25)
- Timor Leste (East Timor) (since June 17)
- Togo (since June 15)
- Trinidad Tobago (since June 15)
- Chad (since June 15)
- Tunisia (since October 7th)
- Turkey (since June 15)
- Turkmenistan (since June 17)
- Ukraine (since June 15)
Hungary – the following regions / counties are considered risk areas:
- Baranya (since October 7th)
- Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (since October 7th)
- Csongrád-Csanád (since September 30th)
- Györ-Moson-Sopron (since September 23)
- Hajdú-Bihar (since October 7th)
- Capital Budapest (since September 16)
- Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok (since October 7th)
- Komárom-Esztergom (since October 7th)
- Nógrád (since October 7th)
- Pest (since September 30th)
- Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (since October 7th)
- Vas (since September 30th)
- Veszprém (since October 17th)
- USA (since July 3, entire USA)
- Uzbekistan (since June 15)
- Venezuela (since June 15)
- United Arab Emirates (since September 23)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – the following regions and nations are considered risk areas:
- England – East Midlands (since October 17)
- England – North East Region (since October 2)
- England – North West Region (since October 2)
- England – West Midlands Region (since October 17)
- England – Yorkshire and the Humber Region (since October 2nd)
- Northern Ireland – Entire Nation (as of September 30)
- Scotland – Entire Nation (as of October 2nd)
- Wales – Entire Nation (as of September 30)
- the British overseas territory Gibraltar (since August 26th)
- Central African Republic (since June 15)
The official list of the RKI can also be found here.