The Federal Republic of Germany is a dangerous place with exploding infection numbers itself. Still, it just extended its list of ‘High Risk Areas’ by adding as many as 33 other countries. This has implications for travelers.
Incidence Above 500
Persons who enter Germany from ‘High Risk Areas’, and those who have recently been to any of them, need to register online (website in 15 languages) beforehand. They also need to be vaccinated against Corona or have a fresh and negative PCR test. Individuals who recently recovered from COVID-19 may enter as well. Vaccinated travelers or those who recently recovered from the disease caused by the Coronavirus do not have to go into quarantine if they submitted their data to the registration website. Everyone else has to go straight into quarantine for ten days. After five days, they can end their isolation if they test negative. Persons who return from ‘Virus Variant Areas’ need to stay in quarantine for 14 days, no matter what. But, at this stage, there are no ‘Virus Variant Areas’ because the Omicron mutation which was supposed to be kept out already dominates Germany.
Germany’s Seven Day Incidence just reached a new all-time high. It is 515.7, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In earlier Corona waves, Germans were shocked when the Incidence approached 200. Now, it is two and a half times as high. Experts believe it will increase a lot more. In the past 24 hours, 52,504 new Corona infections were registered, about 14,000 more than last Sunday. Bremen (Incidence 1,401.2) and Berlin (965.3) remain the Federal Republic’s Corona hotspots. Berlin’s Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district has the highest Incidence reported anywhere in Germany. It stands at 1,644.3. The situation in Neukölln (1,418.5), the Mitte district (1,353.5) and Reinickendorf (1,190.5) is alarming as well.