[ad_1]
Fall holidays are just around the corner, in some federal states it has already started, and the requirements to travel in your own country change every day. While Munich was recently considered a risk area, it is now part of Berlin, and Frankfurt is heading towards the next level of warning in terms of the number of corona infections.
In an age otherwise characterized by wanderlust and wanderlust, there is now uncertainty, even in your own country. In view of a complicated web of regulations among the 16 federal states. “National travel restrictions are a wrong sign and not helpful,” Thuringia Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) told SPIEGEL, for example. Politicians from the CDU and SPD complained that the juxtaposition of different regulations creates a confusing patchwork quilt and called for uniform regulation at the national level.
Lower Saxony’s health minister even advised against traveling during the autumn holidays. “I recommend to all citizens to spend the autumn holidays at home if possible,” said Carola Reimann (SPD) of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ).
What applies now when traveling in Germany? And do travelers from German risk areas have to be quarantined? Here are the answers to the most important questions (as of October 6, 2020):
What areas are considered risk areas in which federal state?
The Robert Koch Institute currently assigns the cities of Hamm and Remscheid to North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the Vechta district in Lower saxony as German risk zones. furthermore, the Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Mitte, Neukölln and Tempelhof-Schöneberg districts on the RKI list as risk areas.
When asked if an area in a federal state is considered a risk area, RKI’s assessment plays an important role, but the answer is not uniform:
-
Schleswig-Holstein it currently classifies the cities of Hamm and Remscheid and the four districts of Berlin as risk areas, but not the district of Vechta.
-
Rhineland-Palatinate fully follow the RKI assessment when classifying risk areas.
-
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on the other hand, Hamm, Remscheid and Vechta are identified as risk areas, but not the four districts of Berlin. Berlin looks like a whole in risk assessment, as a spokeswoman for the State Health Ministry said.
-
Federal states Sedan, North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower saxony, Thuringia Y Bremen currently they do not show areas of domestic risk.
-
Hessen, Hamburg, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Brandenburg and the Saar they are based on the RKI when designating national risk areas. In these federal states, however, no quarantine is currently ordered for travelers from areas of national risk. However, there are no overnight stays for hotel and boarding guests.
Where can travelers from risky areas in Germany go on holiday during the autumn holidays?
Travelers from risk areas currently identified by the RKI should be prepared for different consequences depending on the federal state:
-
In Schleswig-Holstein People from Hamm, Remscheid and the four affected Berlin districts should go into quarantine, but not the residents of Vechta.
-
In Rhineland-Palatinate In principle, all those who enter the risk areas identified by the RKI must go to quarantine.
-
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania However, travelers from Hamm, Remscheid and Vechta must be quarantined, but not those from the four districts of Berlin. According to the Health Ministry, entry restrictions or quarantine for returnees will only take effect if Berlin, as a city-state, has more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. According to the latest calculations, the mean value for Berlin is below 40.
-
People living in or from German risk areas Hesse, Hamburg, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Brandenburg or ins Saar They are not allowed to stay in hotels, vacation apartments or other commercial accommodations. However, there are several exceptions to this rule depending on the federal state. It is often enough to ensure or prove that you are not infected with the coronavirus.
-
In Sedan, Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia Y Lower saxony Currently there are no special restrictions for those arriving from national risk areas. Lower Saxony Health Minister Carola Reimann (SPD) considers Schleswig-Holstein’s quarantine regulations to be “excessive”. In her country, there is currently no thought of a night ban for people in risk areas in the interior of Germany, she told “NOZ”. The corresponding regulations within the federal territory are also “practically impossible to implement or even control” from the point of view of the Lower Saxony state government.
Can I get out of a quarantine in all states with a quarantine test, that is, come out of quarantine with a negative corona test?
-
Schleswig-Holstein: To shorten the 14-day quarantine required in Schleswig-Holstein, travelers from risk areas must submit two negative corona tests to the health department. The following applies: There must be at least five days between taking the sample material for the first and second tests. If someone takes a test before entering the country, no more than 48 hours should elapse between the test result and entry into Schleswig-Holstein. Furthermore, the sample material for at least one of the two tests may not have been taken within five days after entering Schleswig-Holstein. The quarantine obligation applies until two negative results are available.
-
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: The Corona state ordinance establishes that tourists from risk areas can only enter “if they have a medical certificate confirming that there is no evidence of a Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus infection.” This certificate should not be older than 48 hours. However, there is an obligation to isolate yourself at home immediately for 14 days. The responsible health department may shorten the quarantine if another PCR test after 5 to 7 days is also negative.
-
Rhineland-Palatinate: In Rhineland-Palatinate, travelers from national risk areas could shorten the 14-day quarantine with a negative test and a medical certificate, confirming that there is no indication of infection.
What applies if I have already booked accommodation as a resident of a risk area? So will I get my money back?
When asked about free cancellation of accommodation, according to Hannover travel lawyer Paul Degott, Corona’s exact regulation is important: If guests from risky areas cannot stay at all, travel is simply not possible. “The result is that the lease is up,” Degott said. The money paid will be returned to the guest.
The situation is different if travel and accommodation are still possible because there is only a quarantine requirement at the travel destination, but there is no accommodation ban. So the guest has to pay too, if free cancellation is no longer possible, says Degott. However, under certain circumstances, it is possible to reach an agreement with the hotel or provider of the holiday home.
This is also the argument of the German Hotel Association (IHA). In the case of Schleswig-Holstein, a hotel can continue to offer its services. Vacationers can arrive despite Crown regulation and spend the quarantine period at the hotel. “It is indisputable that this is not the point of the holidays,” the association said.
From a purely legal point of view, the designation of a region as a risk area falls within the sphere of personal risk of the respective traveler and not the hotel, and the traveler must bear the corresponding costs if it is not presented. Of course, each hotelier is free to give a free cancellation or a credit as a gesture of goodwill.
