The federal government has been advising against foreign travel for months, the Canary Islands have been one of the corona risk areas since December.
Nevertheless, many Germans flee to La Gomera.
"Everyone realizes that this is not the hour in which we are traveling now," said the Chancellor recently.
Due to the spreading virus variants, some countries even have a transport ban *.
Nevertheless, travel is still largely possible under certain conditions.
Virologist Melanie Brinkmann told
Spiegel
: "When it comes to vacation trips abroad - that it still works makes me stunned."
Corona escape to the Canary Islands: "Why should I come back to Germany?"
And although traveling has become more unattractive than ever due to quarantine measures and compulsory testing, there are still people who are drawn abroad - who
are fleeing from Corona and prefer to
endure
the pandemic in a sunny place
.
This also includes Jorinde Messlinger, who, like hundreds of Germans, is currently on La Gomera to avoid the lockdown measures.
The Canary Island is currently almost virus-free, the rules a lot looser than in Germany.
“I have no guilty conscience,” the 53-year-old tells the
mirror
.
“If I'm not in Germany, I can't even spread the virus there.
And here I keep the Corona rules when I walk around outside. "
Messlinger is a yoga teacher, but had to close her studio in Essen due to the lockdown in Germany.
Shortly afterwards she came to La Gomera - that was on November 7th.
She actually only wanted to stay there for three weeks, but has now
extended her stay for the fifth time
.
“Why should I come back to Germany?
Here I have nature, the air, the sun, the sea.
I can lead a normal life here.
Sometimes I forget Corona. "
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Corona pandemic: Many Germans are working from home on La Gomera
She is not alone with this opinion: Peter Altmiks and his partner, who is currently barely able to work as a rehab therapist, have also come to La Gomera.
"It is not forbidden to come here, and it is possible," Altmiks told Der
Spiegel
.
He considers the accusation that travelers are spreading the coronavirus and the mutations to be too general.
“We had ourselves tested before the outward flight.
We wear masks, we obey all the rules here
.
We will have ourselves tested before the return flight - and then go into quarantine in Germany. ”That is also less risky than a train journey from Berlin to Cologne, where no one would be tested.
"We have currently occupied more than 60 percent of 11,000 beds, mostly from Germans," reported María Isabel Méndez Almenara, La Gomera's tourism manager.
In fact, many Germans come to work
from home from the Canary Island
.
“We have recently had a lot of guests who telework from here: single people, but also families with small children.” The visitors would always extend their stay.
“We are a little paradise,” says Méndez.
The corona situation in the Canary Islands: La Gomera almost virus-free
The facts seem to prove this: For three weeks there was not a single new corona case on La Gomera.
Only recently, two cases were reported in the island's capital, San Sebastián.
The
7-day incidence of the island is 9.3 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants
, as the "Covid-19 Canarias" statistics (as of February 18) show.
Restaurants and bars can even be open inside.
“I'm so free here.
I would love to live forever the way I do now, ”Messlinger told
Spiegel
.
(fk) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
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