Border controls – including public transport limits and mandatory testing and quarantine requirements for passengers – are inevitable in an effort to prevent the import of other, more contagious coronavirus variants, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday.
“This means that there will be a transport ban – and without exception, tests must be done before entering Germany – and there is an obligation to be quarantined, “Spahn told reporters at a health press briefing.
Spahn went on to say that – despite the new variants – the overall infection rate in Germany was declining.
” To protect the population from viral mutations – this is why the federal government decided yesterday to do so declare the Czech Republic, Tyrol and Slovakia as variant areas of coronavirus,“said the minister.
Some contexts: On Thursday, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Germany was temporarily imposing border controls and restricting travel from the Czech Republic and the Austrian province of Tyrol due to increased infections with new, more contagious coronavirus variants. The restrictions take effect on Sunday.
On Friday, Germany registered 9,860 new coronavirus infections – a decrease of 3,048 cases compared to the same day last week. Coronavirus deaths in Germany have risen to 556 in the past 24 hours – a 299 drop from last week’s Friday.
The latest data from the country’s public health authority, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), indicates this the number of new infections per 100,000 residents could fall below 60 this weekend, Said Spahn.
Starting Friday, 5.7 million coronavirus vaccines have been distributed in the 16 federal states of Germany, with approximately 3.6 million vaccinations performed to date. 2,490,423 – 3% of the German population received the first blow, while 1,178,725 received the second blow, according to RKI data. Spahn said Germany would distribute 8 million coronavirus vaccines by the end of next week.
Germany currently administers coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.