German regional health ministers call for tighter rules on UK arrivals

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s regional health ministers urged the national government on Saturday to introduce tougher rules on people arriving from Britain, where the Omicron coronavirus variant has sparked a surge in infections.

At a meeting, the ministers called on Berlin to classify Britain as a virus-variant area, meaning people arriving from the country would have to quarantine for two weeks even if they are vaccinated.

“The spread of Omicron in the UK is very evident … We have to prevent the spread for as long as possible and slow it down as much as possible,” the ministers said in a statement.

Britain is currently classified in Germany as a high-risk area, meaning travellers who are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 do not need to a provide a test or quarantine.

Unvaccinated travellers must provide a test and quarantine for at least five days.

Britain has reported record daily COVID-19 infections for the past three days, reaching over 90,000 on Friday.

Infections rose steeply in Germany through October and November, but have been slowly falling since December, with 50,968 reported on Friday.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Mark Potter)