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After the widespread relaxation of the coronavirus restrictions at home and abroad, Germans are in the middle of the vacation fever and are opening up new travel prospects for a country that regards the summer break as a fundamental human right.
A significant week-to-week improvement since May in the country’s virus incidence rate, which stood at 22 per 100,000 on Thursday, a 42% decrease from last week, a vaccine campaign that started slowly but has picked up, and easing of the rules in holiday destinations like Mallorca have triggered a booking boom.
The Federal Foreign Office has removed the Balearic Island – the most popular travel destination for Germans – Italy, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Switzerland from the list of risk regions in the last few days. They are now among the top destinations for hundreds of thousands of Germans who want to travel in the next few weeks after the regulations were relaxed in both directions.
But Denmark, France and Greece, also typical favorites, continue to receive warnings, although consumer experts welcome that the reluctance associated with this makes it easier for holidaymakers to get their money back when trips have to be canceled.
German travelers need proof of a negative PCR test or rapid antigen test or proof that they are fully vaccinated or have been infected with the coronavirus in the last six months. Those returning from an area classified as high risk – such as Egypt – must continue to be quarantined for 10 days upon return; this increases to 14 days for those returning from “an area of ​​worrying variation†such as the UK.
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The State Department continues to advise against unnecessary overseas travel, and medical experts caution wherever travelers go, warning that the incidence rate may be lower than since October but is currently 10 times higher than a year ago.
Virologists say an increase in cases towards the end of the summer break is almost inevitable, in part due to increased mobility and impending mingling in larger groups, coupled with a drop in temperature towards autumn. But they hope that expectation of a vaccine for everyone by mid-August through September will stop an uncontrolled fourth wave. The decision to let Germans travel, however, remains a political risk.
Most countries are still classified as “risk areas”, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which has divided them into three categories: Virus variant areas – including Great Britain, Brazil, India, Uruguay and South Africa, among 13 countries, followed by ” High Incidence Areas â€- 24 countries including Egypt, Chile, Argentina and Mexico, and“ Easy Risk Areas â€which are by far the longest list and Portugal, Spain, Denmark and Denmark many other destinations preferred by German holidaymakers become.
Health Minister Jens Spahn launched a digital vaccination pass on Thursday so that vaccinated people can show proof in a coronavirus warning app or via a QR code on their mobile phones. He called it a new tool in the fight against the coronavirus, which he hoped would “make getting a vaccine even more attractive”. It will be valid throughout the European Union and make travel easier. “The aim is that … this digital vaccination card can be read in Helsinki, Amsterdam or Mallorca,” said Spahn.
But at the same start, RKI boss Lothar Wieler warned: “The pandemic is far from over.” He said: “She takes every little opportunity that we simply shouldn’t give her.” This has been confirmed by fatal outbreaks that are still happening, particularly in nursing homes.
The daily death rate in Germany is around 100 per day. More than 90,000 people have died from the virus so far.
The tabloid Bild, the country’s most popular newspaper, which pretends to capture the mood of the country and often reports on the holiday like a quasi-religious act, reports with at least as much enthusiasm about the return of travel and the vaccine breakthrough. It hosts daily Q&A sessions with consumer experts for its readers desperate for answers to their myriad questions about the dos and don’ts of traveling in the second summer of the pandemic.
Vacationers are rushing to book vaccinations after the rules for prioritizing vaccines in Germany were lifted last week, making them more accessible for everyone.
Within Germany, where the restrictions for holidaymakers at Easter were far stricter than for those traveling abroad to Mallorca and Greece, there are still different rules nationwide, much to the annoyance of local hoteliers. But in general, the vaccinated no longer need a test when they head for popular destinations such as the North Sea islands or the Baltic Sea coast. Those who are not vaccinated must show a negative test result, which in some areas has to be repeated every three days, but this requirement is also relaxed.
Tests are now readily available, with more than 15,000 pop-up centers across the country. There are even special courier bikes that drive to the test item.
The challenge for many is finding accommodation as many vacations are already fully booked. “Guests have told me that they would be ready to sleep in a broom cupboard,” said Nancy Engels, hotelier on the island of Hiddensee in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Spiegel.
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