The German government’s health agency on Monday said Covid-19 restrictions on travel from India, the United Kingdom, Russia, Portugal, and Nepal would be relaxed, reported AFP.
The ease on curbs, to be implemented from Wednesday, means that non-residents from these four countries can enter Germany as long as they observe quarantine and testing rules.
The country’s national disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, said that the four countries will be removed from the highest risk category of “virus variant areas” from Wednesday, AP reported. They will now be part of the second-highest category of “high-incidence areas”.
According to Germany’s regulations, only citizens and residents of the country are permitted to enter from a “virus variant area”, India Today reported. Everyone has to go through a two-week quarantine period, irrespective of whether they are fully vaccinated or can provide a negative Covid-19 test.
Last week, German Health Minister Jens Spahn had said that the Delta variant was rapidly becoming dominant in the country, and that bans on most travellers from countries hit by that strain may be relaxed, according to AFP.
Currently, India allows international travel to 27 countries, including Germany, under a bilateral air bubble arrangement.
Covid-19 cases in Germany have been steadily declining in recent weeks, AFP reported. The Robert Koch Institute on Monday reported 212 new cases in the past 24 hours and an incidence rate of five new infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days.
Globally, the coronavirus disease has infected over 18.41 crore people and killed more than 39.83 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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