Merkel panic: Chancellor tightens travel restrictions as coronavirus cases SOAR

From Friday, travellers entering Germany from the state of Victoria in Australia will be required to self-isolate or present a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival. People coming in from multiple regions of Bulgaria and Romania will also be affected by the new set of rules.

On Saturday the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,122 to 215,336, data according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by twelve to 9,195.

The new rules will apply to travellers coming from the Bulgarian regions of Blagoevgrad, Dobritch, and Varna, as well as travellers from Romania’s Argeș, Bihor, Buzău, Neamt, Ialomita, Mehedinti and Timis regions.

The measure follows equal restrictions announced from August 5 for people coming from Antwerp.

The Belgian port city accounts for around 70 percent of the country’s COVID-19 cases.

Germany’s disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, has designated dozens of countries as “high risk”.

The majority of nations on the list are not in Europe.

READ MORE: German fishing chief orders BAN on UK fish sales in EU

Couples will have to provide some proof that they were in a relationship before the pandemic, the interior ministry said on Friday.

Most European Union borders have been closed to non-EU travellers since March, unless they are essential workers or married to an EU resident.

On social media, unmarried long-distance couples have been lobbying under the hashtags #LoveIsEssential and #LoveIsNotTourism for governments to allow them to reunite.

A few European countries including Austria, Norway and Denmark, have heeded the call.

They have introduced “sweetheart visas” that exempt couples from the travel ban.
In Germany, couples will have to present an invitation by the boyfriend or girlfriend who lives in Germany.

They will also be required to sign a statement confirming that they are in a relationship.

And they must also provide proof, such as stamps in passports or plane tickets, that they have met in person in Germany at least once.

The European Commission on Friday renewed a call for the remaining EU member states to exempt the unmarried partners of European citizens from travel restrictions into their countries.

source: express.co.uk