Germany extends travel warning for non-EU countries

By Cuneyt Karadag

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Wednesday extended its travel warning for non-EU, non-Schengen area countries amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

The previous date of Sept. 14 was extended until Sept. 30, said Maria Adebahr, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

Adebahr said the government will reevaluate the situation on Oct.1 and will consider every country separately.

Norbert Fiebig, the president of the Association of German Travel Agencies (DRV), said in a statement that it is a right step to replace the comprehensive warning on Oct. 1 with a different warning system for each country.

In March, Berlin issued a global travel warning for its citizens to avoid non-essential travel abroad due to the outbreak, along with restrictions on international air travel.

Three months later it lifted its travel warning only for EU and Schengen states but extended it for all other countries until the end of August.

Germany on Aug. 4 partially lifted its coronavirus travel warning for Turkey, greenlighting summer holidays in popular destinations such as Antalya, Izmir, Fethiye, and Aydin.

After it eased restrictions, in recent weeks Germany has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases, as the Robert Koch Institute reported 1,499 new cases on Tuesday.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, at least 252,298 people in Germany have been infected, with 9,329 deaths, said the institute on Tuesday.

*Writing and contributions by Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak