Germany classifies ten Swiss cantons as risk zones



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Several Swiss cantons have been on the German crown risk list since Thursday. The most important answers at a glance.

Swiss travelers from various cantons will have to think twice about whether a longer stay in Germany makes sense.

Swiss travelers from various cantons will have to think twice about whether a longer stay in Germany makes sense.

Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters

On Thursday, Germany added eight new Swiss cantons to its crown risk list. The cantons of Friborg, Jura, Neuchâtel, Nidwalden, Schwyz, Uri, Zurich and Zug are affected. The updated list of risks is effective as of Saturday (October 17). The cantons of Geneva and Vaud have been on the German quarantine list since September. The classification as a risk zone is given if there were more than 50 new infected people for every 100,000 inhabitants in a country or region in the last seven days.

Anyone traveling to Germany and staying in a risk zone within 14 days before entering the country is generally obliged to go directly home or to other suitable accommodation after entering the country and isolate themselves there for 14 days.

In Germany, the government decides who lands on the list based on the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute. The states and federal districts, for their part, determine in detail what consequences this has for those arriving from the affected areas. The entries for Switzerland refer mainly to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Bavaria has a strict regime to treat adjacent risk areas. Baden-Württemberg, on the other hand, has not yet had any experience with adjacent risk areas.

The Federal Government currently states on its website: “Cross-border passenger traffic is guaranteed as is the cross-border movement of goods.” The same goes for a new sample quarantine rule that the German government published on Wednesday (October 14). It is considered a “job aid” for the individual federal states in order to achieve the most uniform regulation possible throughout Germany, but must be implemented by the federal states.

According to this model ordinance, all cross-border travelers without a corona test can carry out their work in Switzerland, provided that they “return to their place of residence at least once a week and can demonstrate that they comply with adequate protection and hygiene standards. “. However, last weekend, the Bavarian district of Cham introduced mandatory tests for cross-border travelers from the Czech Republic.

CDU member of the Bundestag Felix Schreiner, chairman of the German-Swiss parliamentary group in the Bundestag, recently called for a “common strategy for Switzerland and Germany rather than a debate on border closures or risk areas” with a view to the many cross-border travelers . For example, there is still no exchange of Covid app data between Germany and Switzerland. “That would make it easier to track corona infections in the border area,” says Schreiner.

According to current quarantine rules, Swiss in Bavaria are generally allowed to go shopping across the border, but only with a negative test result that is no more than 48 hours old. If you come from a risk area and want to buy in Baden-Württemberg, you must go into quarantine. As of today, quarantine cannot be bypassed with a negative test result. Infractions are punishable by a fine.

Anyone entering Germany from a foreign risk area must undergo a 14-day quarantine and report to the responsible health department. Since August, travelers from an at-risk area have also had to show a negative corona test that is no older than 48 hours, or be screened within 10 days of arrival. If the test result is negative, the quarantine can be terminated. In the future, the quarantine should only be lifted after 5 days with a negative test result. You can obtain more detailed information from the health authorities of the federal state you enter.

It is not yet clear when the new regulation will apply. Under the model federal quarantine ordinance, it should go into effect on November 8, but only if individual federal states adapt their respective ordinances by then.

Under the model quarantine ordinance, family visits should still be possible without a test if they last no more than 72 hours. If the test result is negative, longer family visits should also be allowed.

It can be assumed that exceptions will apply in Bavaria for family or partner visits, animal care or urgent medical treatment. This is how the federal state has so far handled the comparatively strict regime with risk areas like Vorarlberg. So far, Baden-Württemberg has only relaxed its quarantine regulations for mandatory visits by close relatives or for medical treatments that cannot be postponed. “The mere visit of relatives is not an exception to the quarantine obligation,” says the state’s website.

In addition to the quarantine requirement, Germany warns its citizens against “unnecessary tourist trips” to risky areas. However, the two major tourist cantons in the Alps, Graubünden and Valais, as well as Bern with the Bernese Oberland are currently not on the German Crown list. If other cantons, especially in the Alpine region, end up on the risk list, the flow of tourists from Germany should be significantly reduced, if not completely absent.

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