Entry rules will be extended until the end of May

Corona rules will continue to apply for vacation returnees entering Germany for the time being. The federal cabinet decided on Wednesday to extend the corresponding regulation until May 31 - it would otherwise have expired this Thursday.

With this, it remains the case that everyone aged twelve and over must have proof of 3G as vaccinated, recovered or tested upon entry.Even though the current Omicron virus variant has resulted in less severe disease, the spread of new variants with more disease-causing properties is not unlikely if the epidemic situation remains dynamic worldwide, the Ministry of Health explained in the regulation.

From Friday, however, the information SMS on Corona regulations in Germany, which mobile operators had to send to the cell phone of entrants, will be dropped. For reasons of proportionality and sufficient alternative sources of information this is dispensable.

Sending this information causes high monthly costs for network operators with little proven use - around 400,000 euros alone for text messages to inbound travelers with foreign mobile operators.

In addition, the regulation continues to provide for quarantine obligations for returnees from high-risk or virus-variant areas - even if these are de facto not applicable at present.

According to the corresponding list of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), no country is currently classified as such an area by the German government. The regulations remain in place, however, as it cannot be completely ruled out that they will become necessary.