NAMIBIA – All countries that appeared on Germany’s ‘virus variant areas list’ will be moved to its high-risk list, according to an announcement by the country’s Robert Koch Institute.
Namibia is one of the countries on the list of high-risk areas. Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom are among the others.
When Omicron was discovered on November 28, they were all placed on the red list of “virus variant countries,” and only German citizens and residents, as well as certain categories of travelers, could enter Germany from virus variant areas.
Gitta Paetzold, the head of the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), applauded Germany’s decision to lower the travel risk status for southern Africa.
Gitta Paetzold, the head of the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), applauded Germany’s decision to lower the travel risk status for southern Africa.
In an interview with New Era she stated that these decisions were made by key source countries for Namibian tourism just before the turn of the year, and that 2022 will begin on a very positive note for the country’s travel sector.
With Namibia now removed from the ‘variant list’ and categorized as ‘high risk’ only, it means that the 14-day quarantine falls away, which makes travel to this part of the world plannable and attractive again.
“We sincerely hope that we will only move upward and forward from here as the travel ban called in late November with the identification of Omicron nearly wiped out all efforts of a tourism recovery,” she stated.
Furthermore, the new regime allows the tourism industry to begin hoping for a recovery and a better year.
Due to Germany’s decision to lower the travel risk status for southern Africa, visitors from these nine countries will be able to enter the country with the same restrictions as the rest of the world.
They must, however, register before arriving in Germany and bring their registration confirmation with them.
The German minister of foreign affairs, Annalena Baerbock, said: “Upon entry into the Federal Republic of Germany, individuals aged six years or older need to be in possession of proof of testing, proof of recovery or proof of vaccination. As a general rule, Covid tests (antigen tests or PCR tests) must not be older than 48 hours at the time of (planned) entry into Germany.”
Travelers from high-risk areas who fail to provide proof using the methods listed above will face a 10-day quarantine.
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