The Health Department of the Städteregion has provided important information about the upcoming summer vacation – especially for travellers who going to so-called “risk areas”. As of today (Friday, June 26), the current NRW Coronavirus Entry Regulation requires a quarantine at home upon return. Travellers may choose to get tested and will bear the costs for this.
A new corona entry regulation has been in force in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since June 22 and is currently in effect until July 1. Nevertheless, travellers now going to risk areas should take into account that the same or similar rules will still apply on the day of their return, according to the health authorities. In addition to the comprehensive regulation of the state of NRW on all issues concerning return from travel, the Public Health Department of the StädteRegion Aachen has now published a list of FAQs at: https://www.staedteregion-aachen.de/reiserueckkehr and www.aachen.de/corona under the heading “Hilfreiche Informationen”, which provides important information on returning to NRW after a vacation.
The current NRW Coronavirus Entry Regulation states that individuals entering and returning from risk areas must go into quarantine at home and contact the responsible health authority. Anyone who does not contact the health department immediately is committing an administrative offense that can be subject to a fine.
Travellers may choose to get tested. If they can provide a negative test result for SARS-CoV2 issued from a recognized laboratory, the health authority says that the quarantine period can be waived if the individual is not experiencing any symptoms. The test must have been taken no more than 48 hours before entering Germany. However, testing can also be carried out upon return to shorten the quarantine period. In any case, the individual must bear the costs of this. These tests can either be carried out directly by the respective physician (as a direct payment) or at the Public Health Department of the StädteRegion upon appointment (at a cost of around 90 euros). The department can be contacted by phone at 0049 241 51985300 or by email at infektionsschutz@staedteregion-aachen.de.
The countries designated as risk areas and the recognized test laboratories are listed on the RKI website (https://www.staedteregion-aachen.de/risikogebiete). The list is updated on a regular basis and is valid on the day of entry into Germany.
Initially, every returnee from a classified risk country classified is obliged to report to the health department immediately after entry on the day of return. We ask for your understanding that due to the high workload, there may be delays in response. The quarantine measures as well as contact restrictions must be strictly adhered to in order to avoid a possible, even unnoticed, spread of the coronavirus.