Germany could lose quarantine exemption after spike in Covid-19 cases

Quarantine restrictions could be imposed on travellers arriving in the UK from Germany, new figures suggest.

Some 14,964 coronavirus cases were reported in Germany on Tuesday, which was the highest daily total since May.

That brought the country’s seven-day rate of cases per 100,000 people to 101, up from 56 a week ago.

Figures have been calculated by the PA news agency based on data collected by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Germany could lose its exemption from the UK’s quarantine policy when the Government announces the weekly update to its list of travel corridors at 5pm on Thursday.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said the Government is “very likely” to remove the quarantine exemption for people arriving from Germany.

He told the PA news agency: “Its numbers on every criteria are heading in the wrong direction. It’s now firmly in the quarantine zone.

“It’s had a very sudden increase. In the last two weeks its infection rate has gone up by nearly 200%.

“On the measure of testing positivity it’s gone above 4%, so that indicates widespread community transmission, which is not something the Government likes to see in their decision-making.”

Germany requires visitors from the UK to enter quarantine for 14 days unless they can provide evidence of a negative test that is no older than 48 hours, or get tested on arrival.

Cyprus could also lose its quarantine exemption due to a case rate of 112.

Jamaica’s rate of 14 means there is “no reason” for excluding the Caribbean island from the travel corridors list, Mr Charles claimed.

He also said it is “a disgrace” that no African countries are exempt from quarantine requirements and stated that there is a possibility that South Africa – with a rate of 20 – will be added to the travel corridors list.

A rate of 20 cases per 100,000 people is the threshold above which the Government previously considered triggering quarantine conditions.

But Mr Charles believes a new criteria based on a rate of 100 is being used in response to the rise in cases around the world.

The UK’s case rate is 233.

People arriving in the UK from non-exempt destinations must self-isolate for 14 days.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday show that people who have been on a foreign holiday have similar rates of Covid-19 infection to those who have not.

The data shows there is “no longer a difference” in the rate of infections between those who have travelled abroad and those who have not.