Germany: Authorities advise against non-essential travel to Antwerp province August 5 /update 36

Event

German authorities advised against all non-essential travel to Belgium's Antwerp province on Wednesday, August 5, due to a rise in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the province. Additionally, as Antwerp province is now considered a "high-risk area", travelers who visited the province may be requested to quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival in Germany.

German authorities also advised against travel to Spain's Aragon, Navarra, and Catalonia regions on July 28 following a rise in COVID-19 cases in the three regions. Given the new government advice, travelers who have visited these locations must undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test upon their arrival in Germany.

German authorities previously announced on June 17 that the ban on large events will be extended until at least October 31, while the travel warning to non-European countries for German citizens will remain in place until August 31.

As of Wednesday, August 5, there have been 214,110 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, and 9179 associated fatalities. Further international spread of the virus is expected in the near term.

Context

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on December 31 and the source of the outbreak has been linked to a wet market in Wuhan (Hubei province, China). Since then, human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed.

Cases of the virus have been confirmed in numerous countries and territories worldwide. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak a pandemic. Virus-screening and quarantining measures are being implemented at airports worldwide, as well as extensive travel restrictions.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as body pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms (in most cases mild) appear gradually. Generally, most patients (around 80 percent) recover from the disease without being hospitalized.

Advice

Measures adopted by local authorities evolve quickly and are usually effective immediately. Depending on the evolution of the outbreak in other countries, authorities are likely to modify, at very short notice, the list of countries whose travelers are subject to border control measures or entry restrictions upon their arrival to the territory in question. It is advised to postpone nonessential travel due to the risk that travelers may be refused entry or be subject to quarantine upon their arrival or during their stay.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers are advised to abide by the following measures: