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Germany publishes list of 'coronavirus risk' countries and states

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Germany publishes list of 'coronavirus risk' countries and states
A Lufthansa employee at Frankfurt airport. Photo: DPA

Germany has published a list of places it considers 'coronavirus risk areas'. Among them is popular destination Turkey and several US states.

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The German government has classified popular non-EU German holiday destination Turkey together with 130 other countries as coronavirus risk areas.

The list, which was published for the first time on Monday by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and is now being regularly updated, also includes other popular places for Germans to visit such as Egypt, Thailand and Morocco, as well as several US states including California and New York.

Anyone entering Germany from a risk area would be ordered to self-quarantine for 14 days.

READ ALSO: Travel - what you need to know about Germany's quarantine rules

On Monday June 15th, Germany lifted the warning against tourist travel for EU countries and states, replacing it with detailed travel advice instead.

However, the travel warning remains in place for all so-called third countries outside the EU until the end of August.

It means people are discouraged from travelling to these countries, and they have to complete a mandatory 14 day quarantine if travelling to Germany.

Turkey, the third most popular holiday destination for Germans after Spain and Italy, is pressing for this travel warning to be scrapped.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu recently expressed disappointment about the worldwide travel warning. "The scientific reasons behind the decision are difficult for us to understand," he told Der Spiegel. Everything is prepared for a safe trip to Turkey, he added.

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The government said it is "constantly reviewing" its list of risk areas and urged people to check the website for updates. 

READ ALSO: What are the rules for travelling abroad from Germany this summer?

Warning could be removed for individual countries

The German government said the travel warning may be lifted in future for individual countries outside the EU.

However, if a country is classed as a risk area it seems unlikely that the warning will be removed.

READ ALSO: When can Americans travel to Germany?

If there are more than a total of 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, a country is considered to be risky.

But even if the infection rate is lower, a country can be declared a problem region if there is a lack of testing capacity or insufficient measures to contain the pandemic. "Likewise, when no reliable information is available for certain states that is taken into account," the RKI website states.

The only EU country currently considered a risk area is Sweden because it is still deemed to have too many new infections.

Among the countries outside the EU to not be classified as risk countries are Tunisia, New Zealand and Australia.

For the full list of risk countries and states check out the RKI website.

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