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Vienna – In view of the increasing number of new infections, there are more travel advisories for Vorarlberg and Tirol. Germany, which is important for tourism, classified Vorarlberg as a corona risk area on Wednesday night and issued a travel advisory. Meanwhile, Belgium put the federal states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol on the red list.
The German Robert Koch Institute (RKI) included Vorarlberg and the regions of ten other European countries in the list of risk areas. “The state of Vorarlberg is now also considered a risk area,” the institute’s website said late at night. Soon after, the German Foreign Ministry issued a travel advisory in Germany.
No prohibition, but with deterrent effect
Participants from Vienna and Vorarlberg are now required to submit a negative COVID-19 test upon entering Germany, which must be no more than 48 hours in order not to enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The travel warning is not a ban, but it is intended to have a significant deterrent effect. It allows German vacationers to cancel reservations for free.
Regions of Denmark, Portugal, Ireland and Slovenia were added to the German list of risk areas on Wednesday. In addition, other regions of France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Croatia, Romania and Hungary were identified as risk areas. Due to the high number of infections, almost the entire Czech Republic is now classified as a risk zone. “The entire country, with the exception of the regions of the Aussiger region (Ústecký) and the Moravian-Silesian region (Moravskloslezský)”, is considered a risk area since Wednesday.
Austria has so far not issued a travel advisory for the neighboring country. The Vienna Foreign Ministry currently advises against unnecessary travel, but there are only explicit travel warnings in the EU for Portugal, most of Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Germany has re-designated 14 of the 27 EU member states fully or partially as corona risk areas. The classification as a risk area is based on a two-stage assessment in Germany. First, it is determined in which countries / regions there were more than 50 new people infected per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days. In a second step, qualitative criteria are used to determine whether countries / regions that nominally fall below the cutoff value are nevertheless at risk of increased risk of infection.
Belgian travel warning for Vorarlberg and Tyrol from Friday
More bad news also came from Belgium on Wednesday: after Vienna, Belgium also put the federal states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol on the red list. The Austrian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday on its website. According to this, a Belgian PCR test and a 14-day quarantine are mandatory starting Friday at 4pm if you stay in these areas within the last 14 days directly after entering Belgium.
People from the Red List regions can get tested in advance at Zaventem Airport in Brussels or at one of the country’s state-certified laboratories, the list of which is linked on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A negative test does not end the quarantine prematurely, it must be completed in any case, emphasizes the Foreign Ministry. Persons who have been in Vienna, Tyrol and Vorarlberg for less than 48 hours or who will be in Belgium for less than 48 hours are excluded from the provisions. Therefore, we strongly advise against tourist trips to Belgium from these regions.
Plato LH: “Every travel warning hurts”
Vorarlberg Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) emphasized in an initial reaction to the Belgian decision that he was “taking note of this decision”, but at the same time stressed that “we will clearly continue our efforts to contain the virus”. This includes advancing the curfew in the restaurant sector until 10 p.m., according to a broadcast from the governor on Wednesday night. Vorarlberg “will do everything possible to have the travel warning lifted.”
Tyrol Governor Günther Platter (ÖVP) said Wednesday night in a first statement on the APA request that “any travel warning” hurts. Because in Tyrol countless jobs depend on tourism. However, it is currently positive that the trend in the number of infections in the “Our goal continues to be to keep reducing the numbers,” Platter said.
The Netherlands had previously put Innsbruck, the Tyrolean capital, on the red list. In Denmark, a travel warning applies to all of Austria. In addition to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands also warn against traveling to the federal capital Vienna. (WHAT)
