Apparently, the German federal government has realized that the almost complete covering of the globe with corona travel warnings no longer deters almost anyone. Now they want to revise the definition of "high-risk area".

Contrary to many assurances, Germany bases this classification, which is automatically linked to a travel warning, exclusively on the seven-day incidence. This is currently four digits in many European countries. Accordingly, it is not surprising that an enormous number of states are assigned this “negative seal of approval”. What was still partially understandable and possibly also sensible with the delta mutation only creates confusion with Omicron.

The German federal government wants to designate fewer countries as high-risk areas with effect from March 4, 2022. A current draft by the Federal Ministry of Health also shows that in future children under the age of twelve, even coming from high-risk areas, should be exempted from quarantine. Above this age, the same rules as for adults should apply. According to the ministry, in future high-risk areas will only be identified if a more dangerous mutation is circulating there than in Germany.

The consequence of this is that the current state of information according to Omicron is no longer relevant. For travelers, this has the consequence that, according to the current state of information, entry registration will no longer be necessary. There should also be no more quarantine for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. Unvaccinated children coming from high-risk areas should be able to test themselves after five days.

The regulations to be issued by Karl Lauterbach (SPD) are not yet final. In Germany, the Federal Minister of Health issues a so-called model regulation. The actual regulations are a matter for the state, so there may be slight deviations from state to state.