From Sunday, people travelling from the UK will not be allowed to enter Germany, after a surge in cases of the Indian variant of the coronavirus.
There have been more than 2,000 cases of the faster-spreading Indian variant in the UK, in the past week – which is why Germany has taken action.
In Germany, the Indian variant currently makes up about 2% of new infections. But there are fears that if it spreads here, as it has in parts of the UK despite more than 50m vaccinations already administered there, the recent progress fighting the pandemic could be undermined.
Locals in Germany have only just begun enjoying outdoor drinking and dining once more as the authorities ease coronavirus restrictions on people who were fully vaccinated or had recovered from the virus.
German citizens and residents, plus people with an exceptional reason, can however still enter into the country from the UK – but will have to go into quarantine for two weeks.
