Germany on Tuesday extended a ban on arrivals from Britain and South Africa until January 6 after a new more infectious coronavirus strain appeared in the two countries.
The ban was put in place after a new more infectious coronavirus strain appeared in the nations.
Read Also: Britain Says New COVID-19 Strain ‘Out Of Control’
The Health Ministry in a statement said;
The transport ban covers passenger traffic by train, bus, ship and flights directly from these countries. The order covers the period from December 22nd, 2020 until January 6th, 2021.
It added that people who have valid residency permits for Germany could return from January 1.
The ministry said that travellers who arrived from the affected countries or who spent time there in the last 10 days would be required to be tested for the coronavirus, adding;
Existing quarantine rules for arrivals from risk areas continue to apply.
Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said that “as long as it is possible”, Germany aimed to prevent “potentially dangerous virus mutations from spreading in continental Europe”.
Read Also: European Countries Ban UK Flights Over New COVID-19 Strain
He expressed;
The entry ban from Britain, Northern Ireland and South Africa is a precautionary measure until we know more about the reported coronavirus mutations in those countries.
EU ambassadors were to meet on Tuesday to try to thrash out a unified approach and work out how to eventually lift the border restrictions with Britain – including by imposing a requirement for tests on all arrivals.
Many European countries have also banned travel from the UK while the World Health Organisation has called for stronger containment measures as British government warned that a highly infectious new strain of the virus was “out of control”.
