GERMANY has declared Britain and Northern Ireland a virus-variant region, requiring anyone entering the country from the United Kingdom to quarantine for two weeks on arrival. The move comes amidst Britain reporting a rise in the spread of the coronavirus variant first found in India.
The new rule takes effect from midnight on Sunday (23). The quarantine rules also apply to people with full vaccination protection, negative test results, and those who have recovered from Covid-19.
Only 11 other countries, from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, are currently listed by Germany in the high-risk category of zones where the highly contagious B.1.617.2 variant of Indian origin is circulating.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn voiced his concern about the situation in Britain, stressing the need to prevent the Indian variant from spreading in Germany. He also emphasised the need to keep “infection figures down and vaccination figures up” for the next few weeks, so that the people in the country can “look forward to a good summer."
“If we want to keep pushing down infection rates, we need to prevent contagious viral variants from jeopardising this positive trend," a spokesman for the Health Ministry said. "This step is hard for the UK, but it is necessary to prevent the rapid spread of the Indian variant in Germany.”
Germany has recorded 8,769 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours and 226 deaths.
Meanwhile, Germany is already in the UK's amber list countries, implying that anyone returning from there needs to quarantine for 10 days at their home.
A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso. 
