Germany lifts entry ban on travellers from Delta variant hit-India and four other countries

Germany announced on Monday to lift the entry ban and ease travel restrictions on travellers from India and four other countries including the UK where the Delta variant of the COVID-19 is widespread.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said India, Nepal, Russia, Portugal and the UK, currently listed as so-called virus variant countries, would be reclassified from Wednesday as 'high-incidence areas'.

The change eases a ban on entry for travellers who are not German residents or citizens. The new policy implies that anyone will be able to enter the country as long as they observe quarantine and testing rules.

Travellers from high-incidence areas are also exempt from quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated.

Germany introduced its 'virus variant country' travel category in a bid to stop new coronavirus variants that had not yet spread widely on home soil.

But Health Minister Jens Spahn said last week that the Delta variant was fast becoming dominant in Germany, meaning that bans on most travellers from countries hit by that variant may be lifted.

Given the increasing spread of Delta, which was first detected in India, and research suggesting vaccines are effective against it, "we will look at the situation in the next few days", Jens Spahn said.

Countries where variants other than Delta are circulating, such as Brazil and South Africa, remain in the variant category.

Despite the rising share of the Delta variant, the overall incidence in Germany has been steadily declining in recent weeks.