For weeks, travel warnings and risk areas in the wake of the corona pandemic have been keeping people away from traveling.
The RKI is now adding other regions in the EU to the list of hazards.
When the Robert Koch Institute * designates a region as a corona risk area *, it does not take long before the Federal Foreign Office issues a travel warning.
The Federal Foreign Office will adjust its strategy on October 1
(see update from September 19)
.
On Wednesday (September 23), the RKI declared further areas to be
risk areas
- including four new EU states.
Update from September 23, 9:09 p.m.:
The federal government has declared regions in
eleven countries of the European Union
to be
corona risk
areas
due to increasing numbers of infections
.
A detailed list of which regions in Europe are affected can be found here.
This also includes areas in the neighboring countries of Denmark, the Czech Republic, France, Austria and the Netherlands.
This can be seen from the updated list from the Robert Koch Institute.
Overall,
14 of the 27 EU member states are
now fully or partially designated as corona risk areas.
Travel warnings due to Corona: regions close to the border with Germany
Regions in
Denmark, Portugal, Ireland and Slovenia
were added on Wednesday
.
In addition, other regions in France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Croatia, Romania, Austria and Hungary were identified as risk areas.
Shortly afterwards, the prognosis came true that the Foreign Office would
issue
a
travel warning
for all these areas
.
Travelers returning from risk areas must be
tested for corona
48 hours before or after entering the country
.
The travel warning is not a ban, but is intended to have a significant deterrent effect.
However, it also has a positive side for consumers: it allows travelers to cancel bookings free of charge.
# Covid19 # Austria: flagge-at :: The state of Voralberg is now a #risk area with a #travel warning and the test or quarantine obligation applies.
We continue to monitor the infection process in the state of Tyrol.
You can find more about this here
:: pfeil_rechts: https: //t.co/KwkjTsBEAQ
- Crisis Response Center (@AA_SicherReisen) September 23, 2020
In the Czech Republic and Austria,
areas directly on the border with Germany
have been designated as risk areas.
In Austria it is the popular holiday region Vorarlberg, in the Czech Republic it is the administrative regions of Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Pilsen (Plzen), Liberec (Reichenberg) and South Bohemia on the borders with Bavaria and Saxony.
Travel during Corona: Foreign Office changes course for travel warnings
Update from September 19, 2:30 p.m.:
The Federal Foreign Office will change its travel warning strategy on October 1.
The warning “against unnecessary, tourist trips abroad” still applies up to and including September 30th.
Most European countries are excluded from this.
This relatively
general travel warning
for non-European countries, which applies regardless of the corona infection situation within a country, will be abolished on October 1st.
From then on, "unrestrictedly differentiated travel and safety information for individual countries will apply again," the Foreign Office informs on its website.
This should mean that, for example, travel warnings no longer apply to countries that are outside Europe but where the incidence of infection is low.
Furthermore, the
Robert Koch Institute,
in cooperation with the Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of the Interior,
monitors the
global infection situation and classifies countries and regions as risk areas.
A travel warning can be issued again at any time after the change on October 1st.
Corona travel warnings: RKI continues to classify regions and states as risk areas
As a guide: as soon as there were more than
50 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants
in a region or state
in the last seven days
, the area could be classified as a risk area.
However, the responsible authorities use further criteria for the decision.
The Federal Foreign Office also points out that travelers should always find out about the situation in the country they are traveling to.
Because quarantine rules or other restrictions could also apply from this side.
Comprehensive information
is
more important than ever
when traveling during the
corona pandemic
.
Vienna is declared a corona risk area - tourism is suffering.
Are private parties to blame?
Update from September 18, 12:34 p.m
.: The
RKI
has declared three other neighboring
metropolises
to be
risk areas
for the coronavirus *.
In
Vienna
,
Amsterdam
and
Budapest
, the number of
infections
has risen further and is thus above the limit of
50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants
.
Anyone who
has booked
a trip to one of the three popular
holiday destinations
can cancel it.
Returnees can be tested
for the
corona
virus
free of charge
.
For
tourism in Vienna
, the German declaration on the risk area * is an enormous blow.
“This is a great
disaster,
” said
Vienna's tourism director Norbert Kettner
on
Thursday
.
The
Germans have
always been the most important group of guests and have remained
loyal to
the city
, especially during the time of the
corona crisis
.
# Austria 🇦🇹: Because of its high number of cases, the state of #Vienna is now a #risk area and a travel warning applies.
Note the test and quarantine obligation.
You can find more travel
advice
here:
➡️ https://t.co/KwkjTsBEAQ
- Crisis Response Center (@AA_SicherReisen) September 16, 2020
But why are the coronavirus * cases increasing
so much
in the
big cities of
all
places
?
In an interview with the Swiss news portal
watson
,
epidemiologist
Timo Ulrichs
from Akon University in Berlin
emphasizes not
only the high population density but also
private parties and events
.
They are "an important source of spread".
"These should be avoided as far as possible, at least until we have a
protective vaccine
available." However, the expert does not consider it necessary to temporarily move to the country for fear of the coronavirus.
RKI massively expands travel warnings for vacation regions
First report from September 16:
Berlin - bang from the
Robert Koch Institute
.
The federal authority
declared a
number of new regions to be
risk
areas
on Wednesday evening
.
This affects
Germany's
neighboring countries
and popular holiday regions.
If the
RKI classifies
a region as a
risk area
, it usually does not take long before the
Federal Foreign Office
follows suit and also warns against travel.
The new assessment of the
RKI
at a glance.
Corona in France: situation in the country precarious - new travel warnings follow
According to the World Health Organization,
France
has a threatening 14-day incidence * of 168, which is the fifth worst value in
Europe
.
That is why Germany has now reacted and is extending its warnings.
From now on, the
Hauts-de-France region
and the overseas territory of
La Réunion are also
considered
risk areas
.
A number of areas such as the
Île-de-France region
around the metropolis of
Paris
had previously been classified as risk areas.
On the website of the
Federal Foreign Office
it says: “Before unnecessary tourist trips to the regions of
Île-de-France
,
Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
,
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
,
Occitanie
,
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
,
Hauts-de -France
as well as to
Corse
(Corsica),
French Guyana, St. Martin, Guadeloupe
and
La Réunion
are currently being warned due to the high number of infections. "Travel to the other French overseas territories, for which entry restrictions exist, is even" strongly discouraged. "
Corona in Austria: Vienna is now a risk area - the capital is the country's problem child
In
Austria
, the
federal state of Vienna
has developed more and more into the country's corona focal point in recent weeks.
In the newly introduced traffic light system * of the black-green federal government around
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
(ÖVP), the capital was the only area to have the orange warning level at the weekend, which corresponds to "high risk".
As expected,
Germany
has now reacted and declared the city of almost two million people a risk area.
The
Foreign Office followed
suit and from now on warns against traveling to
Vienna
.
My appeal: let us be particularly careful, especially at private celebrations - since most people are currently infected there.
You can find the whole interview here: https://t.co/YmSndTILbb pic.twitter.com/oFqtsVvY2j
- Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) September 13, 2020
Corona in Croatia: The number of cases is increasing in the east of the country
In August, returnees made up a large part of the new corona infections in Germany, many of them came from
Croatia
.
The situation on site seemed to improve somewhat in September, but is nonetheless still tense.
Croatia
has an incidence of 81. Now the
Brod-Posavina
and
Virovitica-Podravina
counties
in the east of the country have been added as new risk areas.
In addition to these areas, the
Foreign Office
continues to
warn
against traveling to the counties of
Zadar, Šibenik-Knin,
Split-Dalmatia, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Požega-Slavonia
.
Corona in Hungary: "Not advised" before traveling to the whole country
Meanwhile, the situation is more dire in
Hungary
, which has a 14-day incidence of 85.
After the
Robert Koch Institute declared
the capital
Budapest
a risk area on Wednesday, the
Federal Foreign Office
not only
warns
against traveling to
Hungary
, but also advises
against
it: "Unnecessary, tourist trips to Hungary are due to re-introduced entry restrictions * and quarantine measures are currently not advised. ”The
EU country, which seemed to be able to fight
the
pandemic
well, recorded an enormous increase in the number of cases in August and responded with border closings, among other things.
+
Nickelsdorf: A border official controls a driver at the Austro-Hungarian border.
The country of 10 million people closed its borders.
© Harald Schneider / dpa
Corona in Romania: all-clear and warning
In
Romania
, the
RKI has
given a little all-clear.
Due to the falling number of infections, the
Arges
and
Dambovita districts are
no longer considered a
risk area
.
However, the
Neamt
and
Caras Severin districts were added
.
The
Federal Foreign Office has also
warned against traveling to the districts of
Bacau, Bihor, Brăila, Brașov, Iaşi, Ilfov, Prahova, Vâlcea
and
Vaslui
as well as the capital
Bucharest
.
Romania
has a 14-day incidence of 86.
Corona in Switzerland: Geneva, Vaud and Friborg - three cantons cause concern
In
Switzerland
(incidence of 62), the
corona situation has
recently
eased
somewhat.
However, three of the total of 26 cantons are causing concern.
Due to the increasing number of infections, the
Federal Foreign Office
warns
against traveling to the
cantons of Geneva, Waadt (Vaud)
and
Friborg (Friborg).
The latter was added on Wednesday.
Corona in the Netherlands: Warning against traveling to Amsterdam and Rotterdam
In the
Netherlands
, the incidence recently rose to a precarious 80, which now has consequences.
The provinces of
North Holland (Noord-Holland)
and
South Holland (Zuid-Holland)
have been a
risk area
since Wednesday
.
Accordingly, the
Foreign Office
warns
against traveling to these regions, which should not be insignificant for tourists.
The holiday strongholds
Amsterdam
and
Rotterdam
are located in the respective provinces.
In addition, a
travel warning
continues to apply to
the Caribbean islands of
Aruba
and
Sint Maarten
, both of which
belong
to the Kingdom of the
Netherlands
.
Corona in the Czech Republic: Unusual situation in the country - new risk area next to Prague
When it comes to combating corona, the
Czech Republic
was considered one of the European model examples.
The government led by
Prime Minister Andrej Babis
was one of the first countries to introduce a
mask requirement
.
At the moment, however, the situation in
Germany's
neighboring country is
anything but relaxed.
A 14-day incidence of 129 means seventh place in a European comparison.
The
RKI
has now been revised accordingly
.
The
Středočeský
region
(Central Bohemian Region)
has been designated a risk area.
In addition, warnings against traveling to the capital Prague are still issued.
+
The Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (m) recently received the Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic (l) and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis.
One of the topics in Vienna was cooperation in the fight against Covid-19.
© Herbert Pfarrhofer / APA / dpa
Corona: New classifications in neighboring German countries - the situation in Germany is still ok
All in all, the new ratings by the
Robert Koch Institute show
that
Corona
is not over yet and that the concern about the second wave * is quite real in many places.
The fact that, with
France
,
Austria
, the
Czech Republic
, the
Netherlands
and
Switzerland,
no fewer than five neighboring countries have received
new travel warnings
from
Germany
also shows that the situation in
Germany
must be closely monitored.
Currently, the Federal Republic is still doing well in a European comparison (incidence of 23) - but the
RKI
sees
a trend that needs to be “carefully observed”.
(as) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
The classifications as risk areas can change quickly due to a dynamic pandemic course. If you are planning a trip abroad, we strongly recommend that you find out more in advance on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.
List of rubric lists: © Andreas Arnold / dpa