Germany lists Greek holiday islands as high-risk areas for COVID

BERLIN

Germany on Tuesday listed parts of Greece – including tourist-friendly islands – as high-risk areas for COVID-19 due to rising numbers of coronavirus infections.

The Robert Koch Institute classified Crete and other popular islands, including Rhodes, Mykonos, Kos, and Naxos, as high incidence areas.

Travelers returning to Germany from these islands will have to quarantine for 10 days if they cannot provide proof of vaccination or recovery, according to the institute. The quarantine period may be ended after five days at the earliest with a current negative COVID-19 test.

Germany has tightened its travel rules in recent weeks, after a rapid rise in new coronavirus cases, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.

The country last week recorded its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases in three months, and active cases climbed to 79,400 on Tuesday, up from 50,400 reported the same day last week.

New cases have particularly risen among teenagers and young adults, and nearly 25% of the patients were infected abroad, according to the country’s disease control agency.