Germany tightens restrictions on travel from the UK to curb the spread of Omicron | Germany

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Germany’s public health authority said on Saturday that Germany is tightening restrictions on travel from the United Kingdom in an effort to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

From midnight on Sunday – or 11pm UK time – carriers such as airlines are prohibited from taking British tourists to Germany. Only German citizens and residents, their partners and children and transit passengers are allowed to travel into the country from the UK.

Anyone entering Germany from Britain will need a negative PCR test and be required to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of vaccination status.

The Robert Koch Institute announced the new rules because it classified the UK as a changing domain for the virus, which has the highest level of Covid risk. She said the restrictions could last until at least January 3. It comes amid growing concerns about rising rates of Covid-19 driven by the spread of the Omicron variant in the UK.

France imposed similar restrictions that came into effect at 11 pm on Friday. The rush of passengers traveling to France to get around the UK tourist ban in the country has had a knock-on effect on freight traffic, resulting in long lines of trucks.

There was a long tail tail on the M20 in Kent to Dover and at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel on Saturday.

It came on the heels of queues at the Port of Dover the day before after several people submitted their Christmas travel plans to avoid the new rules.

A Eurotunnel spokesperson said: “Congestion in Dover overnight and on the A20 to Dover this morning has moved freight traffic to the Eurotunnel. There is currently slow-moving traffic on the approach to J11A (the Eurotun tunnel exit) on the M20, but freight is flowing through The tunnel is at normal rates, so this will disappear in the coming hours.”

She said that all passengers who wanted to reach France via the Channel Tunnel before the deadline were able to do so.

Under the new rules introduced due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus, UK citizens now need a “compelling reason” to enter France, with tourist or business trips banned.

Carriers, transport workers and French nationals are excluded from the new rules.

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