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Saturday October 17, 2020
There is a curfew in Paris, weddings are prohibited in Warsaw and the army is building a hospital in Prague. Corona’s new measures go into effect in many countries on Saturday. This means that the number of possible foreign destinations for German tourists is shrinking.
Due to the dizzying number of corona infections in Europe, travel advisories for other regions in 15 EU countries have been in effect since Saturday. The Netherlands, mainland France, Malta and Slovakia are now corona risk areas for which the Federal Foreign Office warns against tourist travel. For the first time, the popular tourist regions of Italy, Campania and Liguria, and five areas of Poland, including the metropolises of Gdansk and Krakow, are on the risk list. In addition, there are eight cantons in Switzerland, including the canton of Zurich that borders Germany, areas in Sweden and Finland for the first time, and other regions in Great Britain, Ireland, Croatia, Portugal, Slovenia, and Hungary.
The federal government had already decided on Thursday to extend the risk list as of Saturday. Classification as a risk zone occurs when a country or region exceeds the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days. The automatically linked travel advisories do not signify a travel ban, but are intended to have the greatest possible deterrent effect on tourists.
The good news for vacationers: they can cancel a trip that has already been booked if their destination is declared a risk zone. The bad: Returnees from risk areas currently have to be quarantined for 14 days, but they can be released prematurely with a negative corona test. Many countries in Europe will reintroduce stricter restrictions on public life this Saturday. An overview:
France: The health emergency came back into force in France on Saturday. In several French cities, including Paris, curfews also apply from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturdays. Exceptions apply to people going to work or coming home from work. Due to medical emergencies, caring for family members, or walking the dog, people can also go out during curfew. Then you should have the corresponding form with you. If you want to go to the train station or the airport, you must show the corresponding ticket. Additionally, private celebrations such as weddings in ballrooms or other public venues are no longer allowed across the country.
Around 12,000 police officers will be deployed to monitor curfews in metropolises. Those who do not follow the rules must pay a fine of 135 euros. For repeat offenders, several thousand euros can be charged. Bars are already completely closed in many cities, including Paris. In France, the health authority reported 30,621 new infections registered Thursday night. There was a new maximum value in one day since the start of the large-scale corona tests in France. The number of deaths rose to 33,125. Around 67 million people live in France.
Britain: In the British capital, London, stricter crown rules will apply from Saturday. In view of the rapidly increasing number of infections, members of different households are no longer able to meet indoors. Meetings in pubs or restaurants are also prohibited. Meetings of up to six people are still allowed outdoors. With the new measures, the capital slides to the second highest notch in England’s three-tier warning tier system. Several London boroughs had exceeded the threshold of 100 corona cases per 100,000 inhabitants in recent days. In Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England, however, the figures are significantly higher and there are even more stringent measures.
Poland: Starting Saturday, more than 150 regions across the country, including the capital Warsaw and several other large cities, will be declared red zones, with stricter requirements. Wedding celebrations will be prohibited in the future, swimming pools and gyms will be closed. Restaurants can only be open for guests from 6 am to 9 pm, after this time they can only offer their meals to go. Schools are returning to distance education. On Thursday, the Health Ministry announced that the number of new infections recorded daily had passed the 8,000 mark for the first time. 8099 new cases were added in 24 hours, most of them in the region around the capital, Warsaw (1306). In the same period, 91 people died from the virus. Since the pandemic began, there have been 3,308 Covid-19-related deaths in Poland. Poland has about 38 million inhabitants, about half that of Germany.
Czech Republic: In the exhibition halls of Prague, the army will start building a field hospital on Saturday. It will be kept as a reserve with a capacity of up to 500 beds in case hospitals are overloaded. The advantage of next winter is that the exhibition halls can be heated. Critics in medical circles pointed out that the problem is not the number of beds available, but the lack of nursing staff. The far-reaching restrictions went into effect in the Czech Republic on Wednesday. For example, schools and restaurants were closed. A maximum of six people is allowed to meet both inside and outside. There is a strict ban on alcohol in public.
Austria: In Austria, the Kuchl site in Salzburger Land will be under quarantine from Saturday due to new corona infections. With some exceptions, entry and exit from the community of around 7,000 inhabitants is no longer allowed until November 1, Salzburg regional chief Wilfried Haslauer said on Thursday.
