BERLIN, July 5 (Reuters) – The German Institute of Public Health said on Monday that the UK, India, Nepal, Portugal and Russia were no longer “areas of varying concern”, reducing travel restrictions for people arriving from these countries.

The five countries have been downgraded to “high-impact areas,” the Robert Koch Institute said, meaning their citizens can now travel to Germany and self-quarantine upon arrival for 10 days.

The quarantine period can be shortened to five days if the test is negative for COVID-19, and fully vaccinated people can avoid quarantine altogether.

Prior to the change in classification, travelers from the four countries were not allowed to enter Germany unless they were residents, in which case they were required to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

The decisions, effective from Wednesday, come after Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that Britons who have received two COVID-19 vaccines could soon travel to Germany without going into quarantine upon arrival. Read more

Earlier Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson laid out plans to end social and economic restrictions of COVID-19 in England within two weeks, a test to find out whether a rapid vaccine rollout provides sufficient protection against the Delta variant highly contagious. Read more

Written by Paul Carrel; Editing by Diane Craft and Sonya Hepinstall

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