Could Germany have its quarantine free travel corridor revoked today?
Germany looks likely to be taken off the UK’s quarantine-free travel corridor list this afternoon after its rate of coronavirus infection doubled in the last week.
The surge in cases meant that Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday announced that Europe’s biggest economy would enter a four-week lockdown from 2 November.
As a result, bars, restaurants, and hotels will all close, and internal travel will be restricted.
According to figures from travel specialists the PC Agency, Germany’s rate of infection per 100,000 people over seven days has risen to 107.2.
Last week, it stood at 61.2. By contrast, the rate in the UK is at 229.6 over the same period.
According to transport secretary Grant Shapps, any country that posts more than 20 cases per 100,000 over a week will be in line for addition to the list.
On those grounds, the PC Agency figures suggest that Cyprus and Sweden could all be in line for having their travel corridors revoked.
However, last week Greece had quarantine free travel restored to all of its territory, while the Canary Islands and Maldives were also given travel corridors.
The changes were a welcome boost for holidaymakers seeking to escape the dreary autumn weather, but with cases on the rise across the continent some are sceptical as to how long they will last for.
Grant Shapps will update the travel corridors list later this afternoon.
Earlier this week researchers at Harvard University found that the risks of catching coronavirus during a flight were the same as in undertaking more routine activities like food shopping.
The report found the risk level for catching Covid-19 during flights can be “reduced to very low levels through the combination of layered infection control measures.”