Six German federal states introduce accommodation bans

Initially the holiday regions in the north of Germany and in Bavaria have issued a ban on accommodation, now the southwest is following suit: Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate are also introducing strict regulations for travellers from corona hotspots. Another state could follow soon.

The German southwest is taking tough measures for holidaymakers coming from districts where there are many new corona infections. This currently affects holidaymakers from two districts in North Rhine-Westphalia.

A corona outbreak at the plant of meat manufacturer Tönnies in Rheda-Wiedenbrück had caused the number of cases in the region to rise rapidly. This increase could be related to a visit to a church service by persons directly related to the Tönnies company, the Gütersloh district wrote in a statement. The event is said to have taken place on May 17.

Due to the outbreak at Tönnies, Baden-Wuerttemberg does not want to allow travelers from the Corona hotspot to stay overnight in their state.

The state government of Rhineland-Palatinate announced that anyone coming into the state from corona risk areas in Germany or abroad will have to go into a two-week quarantine as of Friday, immediately after entering the state.

Bavaria (article on The Munich Eye), Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had already decided on accommodation bans. Schleswig-Holstein issued a quarantine regulation which also makes de facto holiday trips to these regions largely impossible for people from corona hotspots.

Like the other German states, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate also base their regulations on whether the number of new infections in the travellers' home area was higher than 50 per 100,000 inhabitants in the seven days prior to arrival.

According to a statement by the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, a ban on accommodation could also be imposed in Saxony-Anhalt. A corresponding cabinet decision has already been announced there for next Tuesday.