For the time being, corona rules continue to apply to those returning from vacation when entering Germany. The federal cabinet decided on Wednesday to extend the relevant ordinance until May 31 – otherwise it would have expired this Thursday.
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This means that everyone aged twelve and over must have 3G proof of being vaccinated, recovered or tested upon entry.
Even if the current omicron virus variant results in less severe disease progression, the spread of new variants with more severely pathogenic properties is not unlikely given the continuing dynamic epidemic situation worldwide, the Ministry of Health explained in the regulation.
Quarantine SMS too expensive for network operators
From Friday, however, there will be no information SMS about corona regulations in Germany, which mobile phone operators had to send to the mobile phone of those entering the country. For reasons of proportionality and sufficient alternative sources of information, this is unnecessary.
Sending causes high monthly costs for the network operators with little proven use – alone around 400,000 euros for SMS to travelers with foreign mobile operators.
The regulation also provides for quarantine obligations for returnees from high-risk or virus variant areas – even if these are de facto not currently applicable.
Because according to the corresponding list of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), no country is currently classified as such an area by the federal government. However, the regulations remain in place because it cannot be completely ruled out that they will become necessary. (dpa)
