Germany decided on Friday to tighten restrictions on travel to Spain, including the Balearic Islands and the Canaries, amid a resurgence of the pandemic in this popular holiday destination for Germans.
The measure, which also applies to the Netherlands, comes as the largest European economy is itself trying to stem an acceleration in contamination observed on its soil due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, in the midst of summer season.
Quarantine of 5 to 10 days upon return
The two countries are now classified as high incidence areas, where new infections exceed the threshold of 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days.
Concretely, this means that travelers returning from Spain or the Netherlands will be forced to observe a quarantine of 10 days on their return to Germany, which can however be reduced to 5 days on presentation of a negative test.
Previously, they were placed in the category of countries with simple risk.
It is then sufficient to present a negative test on return to be exempted from quarantine.
People immunized after receiving two doses of vaccines or considered cured are exempt from this quarantine.
The measure will come into force on Tuesday, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German health watch authority.
The decision is likely to arouse "the concern of people currently on vacation or who will soon leave", reacted the German Association of Tour Operators (DRV).
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