Germany to ban UK travellers to slow Omicron spread
Germany will ban most travellers from the UK tonight as it tries to slow the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Only German nationals and residents will still be allowed to enter from the UK – if they can provide negative test and agree to quarantine for two weeks.
This is regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.
The measures take effect from Sunday evening.
It is the latest country to close its doors to the UK following France’s ban on Friday night – which left thousands of holiday-goers scrambling for last minute ferries into the country and reports of five-hour queues at Dover.
Federal health agency Robert-Koch-Institut announced the new rules as it classified the UK as a virus variant area of concern, the highest Covid risk level.
Denmark, France, Norway and Lebanon have also been added to Germany’s high-risk list, with travel from those countries also set to be restricted.
Germany reported 50,968 on Friday, while the number of deaths following a positive Covid test has risen to 437.
The UK has suffered three successive record-breaking days of Covid-19 cases, alongside a further 90,418 daily reported on Saturday – with over seven thousand hospitalisations and 125 deaths.
The government estimates that 80 per cent of new cases in London are the new variant, with 26,418 daily Covid-19 infections reported across the capital yesterday.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has now declared a “major incident” amid growing fears of another lockdown this Christmas.
The government is reportedly considering ‘Plan C’ restrictions, including a two-week circuit-breaker lockdown with limits on indoor gatherings.