Germany set to lift ban on British tourists
British tourists will be allowed to visit Germany again from next Monday, January 3.
The German embassy announced on Thursday that the Covid travel ban would be lifted from midnight on Tuesday, which is 11pm on Monday British time.
But those travellers will have to be fully vaccinated or have an important reason for travelling to be allowed to enter the country.
Those who have been fully jabbed will not need a negative Covid test or have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, the embassy added.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps labelled the move a ‘welcome development from our German colleagues’.
Brits remain banned from entering a number of other countries but it is unclear how long those restrictions will last.
Germany announced earlier this month that it was tightening rules on travel from the UK in an attempt to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
The move has since caused outrage and bafflement among experts and the tourism industry, since the Omicron variant is now all over the world and many other European countries are also recording sky-high case rates.
The rules, which came into force on December 19, banned airlines and other transport providers from taking British tourists to Germany.
Only German citizens and residents, their partners and children, and transit passengers, were allowed to travel to the country from the UK.
Anyone entering Germany also needed a negative PCR test and was required to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of vaccination status.
France imposed similar restrictions for UK travellers from December 18.
But in a separate development announced on Thursday, the French said that Brits who live in the EU can travel back to their homes by road and train after all.
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