Travellers from Britain and Northern Ireland will be banned from entering Germany from midnight tomorrow, because of virus variants circulating in the UK.
In most cases, they will only be allowed to enter if they are a German citizen or resident, similar to our own ‘red list’ stipulations.
Spouses and children under 18 of a German citizen or resident can also enter, as long as the household are travelling together.
There will also be an exception for those with an urgent reason, such as an immediate family bereavement.
However anyone entering the country from the UK must quarantine for two weeks on arrival, even if they test negative for coronavirus.
It comes after Germany’s Public Health Institute designated the UK as being a Covid risk.
There have been over 3,400 confirmed UK cases of a variant of concern first identified in India, with infections rising.
A German government source told Reuters: ‘We want to play it safe.
‘In this important phase of the vaccination campaign, the entry of problematic mutations must be avoided as far as possible.’
People who are only transferring from one flight to another will still be allowed in, however they must remain in the airport transit area.
Germany is currently on the government’s amber list, meaning those returning from there will have to quarantine for 10 days, but can do so at home rather than in a hotel.
The ban on UK travellers comes after Spain lifted travel restrictions for Brits.
The country’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain will be ‘delighted, extremely delighted’ to receive British tourists again.
Restrictions on the Spanish side will be lifted from Monday – however, the country is also still on the amber list.
It is not illegal to travel to countries on the amber list, but the government has said people should not head to them on holiday.
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