The Federal Ministry of Health of Germany has recently modified the country’s list of high risk areas. The list is effective from Sunday, 5 December 2021 at midnight, and according to the organism, it can change any time soon due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
In Germany, “high risk areas” are those with an infection rate of over 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 7 days or those with a high rate of spread, hospitalization, and positivity (among low rates of testing).
If the country doesn’t have reputable sources providing reliable data about its epidemiological situation, it will be considered at risk preventively. If it has several cases of variants of interest or variants of concern, or even if it’s a variant under investigation, it will also be considered at risk until it’s proven that the variant does not involve increased transmissibility and higher chances of severe disease or mortality.
The Omicron variant happens to be a variant of concern because of its mutations, which make it more infectious and resistant to approved vaccines.
Currently, there are 65 cases of Omicron registered in Germany, and the government wants to slow down the spread of the variant.
Taking into account the origin of the variant (where it was first detected), the German authorities elaborated a list of areas of variants of concern, which includes South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique from November 28th, 2021.
High risk areas encompass:
- Albania
- Armenia
- Austria (except for the municipality of Mittelberg and Jungholz and Rißtal in the municipal area of Vomp and Eben am Achensee)
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Congo
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Dominica
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Georgia
- Greece
- Haiti
- Hungary
- Iran
- Ireland
- Jordan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Malaysia
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Netherlands (including Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba)
- North Macedonia
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Sudan
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom (including all British Overseas Territories, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands)
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
Jordan, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Poland, and Switzerland added to the list on December 5th, 2021, while Uzbekistan, Thailand, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines removed from the list.
Traveling to Germany from a risk area implies presenting one or more additional documents at the borders:
- A digital registration on entry.
- Proof of vaccination or certificate of recovery from COVID-19. Any of these qualify as proof of immunization against SARS-CoV-2.
- A negative COVID-19 diagnostic test (if the traveler comes from an area of variants of concern).
Travelers should also be ready to self-isolate for 10 days if they come from a risk area and 14 days if they come from an area of variants of concern. Travel quarantine might be shortened if the traveler presents proof of vaccination or recovery or a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test taken no earlier than 5 days after entry to Germany (if the traveler comes from a high risk area).
Those who have been in an area of a variant of concern can’t shorten their travel quarantine in any way, even if they’re fully vaccinated.
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