THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Since 14 December, travellers returning home and those entering Germany from a risk area (Risikogebiet) have to be mandatorily tested for the coronavirus infection prior to entry or immediately thereafter.
Those entering from a risk area must present a negative coronavirus test within 48 hours of entry. In addition, they must undergo a ten-day quarantine, which can be shortened after five days at the earliest with a negative PCR test.
Travellers from high-risk areas must present a negative Corona test before departure and upon entry. Without this, they may not be allowed to travel. When travelling by air, the airline is obliged to check the test result before departure. The same applies to trains, buses and ferries.
The Federal Ministry of Health wants to curb the spread of mutations of the coronavirus with new measures. A hard lockdown has been in effect in Germany since 16 December, which has already been extended for the third time and until 7 March.
Since 14 December, the following rules therefore apply to people who have stayed in a risk area (country or region) in the last ten days before entering Germany [to find out which regions and countries are designated as risk areas, click HERE]:
- Entry must be registered electronically (you can do this HERE), a negative coronavirus test must be presented no later than 48 hours after entry
- a negative test result must be presented before entry if you come from an area with a particularly high incidence of infections or if particularly infectious virus variants are prevalent there,
- When entering the country from 1 March, you will be informed by SMS about the entry and infection protection measures.
The federal and state governments continue to order a ten-day quarantine for travellers returning from risk areas. They may only leave the quarantine after five days if the test result is negative, as previously obtains.
If the test is positive, the quarantine obligation continues to apply for ten days. Please note: These regulations may differ in the individual federal states. It is best to contact your local health authority (Gesundheitsamt) for more information.
A far-reaching entry ban for countries in which particularly infectious variants of the coronavirus have spread significantly has been in force since 30 January. It initially applies until 17 February for Great Britain, Portugal, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa.
The German Interior Ministry is responsible for the entry regulations to Germany. Here travellers can find all current information, also in English.
In addition, travellers should consult the website of the German Foreign Ministry , the German Federal Police, and the German Ministry of Health for information on current travel regulations.
Sola Jolaoso
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