Germany will ban travel from Portugal and Russia because of the "Delta" strain of the new coronavirus

From June 29, Germany will ban travel from Portugal and Russia, due to the large number of cases registered with the new "delta" variant, which were detected in both countries.

The German Robert Koch Institute, a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention, unveiled on Friday, June 25, the new list of countries with the new COVID-19 variant, including Russia and Portugal on that list.

Apart from German citizens and residents, all other people will not be able to travel from Portugal and Russia to Germany.

German citizens and residents arriving in Germany from June 29 will be subject to a week of quarantine, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against the virus or tested negative. The option to end quarantine earlier with a negative test is not available for these travelers. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the Delta variant is expected to become the dominant strain in Germany by autumn.

Germany currently prohibits travel from the following countries, which are considered to be at high epidemiological risk due to COVID-19: Botswana; Brazil; eSwatini; India; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Nepal; Portugal; The Russian Federation; Zambia; Zimbabwe; South Africa; Uruguay; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and all British overseas territories.

Several other countries have been removed from the list of risk areas, including Denmark, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovenia and the Netherlands. The Croatian region of Varaždin is no longer considered a risk area, as is the whole of Sweden, with the exception of the provinces of Kronoberg, Norrbotten and Värmland.

Since 25 June 2021, Germany has allowed vaccinated travelers from third countries to travel for non-essential purposes, such as tourism and visiting friends and family members, if two weeks have passed since the complete vaccination.

Earlier, on June 20, travelers from the US, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Albania, Serbia, Northern Macedonia and Lebanon were allowed to enter Germany, regardless of their vaccination status, after the government decided to include these countries. on the list of third countries considered safe, on the recommendation of the EU Council.