Travel warning: Paris and the Côte d’Azur

25. August 2020

Due to the rising number of new COVID-19 infections, Germany’s foreign ministry has declared a travel warning for the Île-de-France area including Paris as well as the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Both areas are now included in the continuously updated list of high-risk areas by the federally owned Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

In the region Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, there are numerous vacation spots such as Nice, Antibes or Cannes. There is also a warning against unnecessary leisure travel to French Guyana, due to high infection rates. Travel to other French overseas territories for which there are entry restrictions is urgently advised against.

What are the high-risk areas according to the Robert Koch Institut (RKI)

Such classifications are based on a joint decision by the health, foreign and interior ministries. The classification as a high-risk area means that returning holidaymakers are required to submit to a COVID-19 test. Until the result is available, they must go into domestic quarantine.

No travel ban, but a deterring effect

For classification as a high-risk area, the main criterion is whether there have been more than 50 newly infected persons per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days in a given state or region. A travel warning goes a step farther. Although it is not a travel ban, it is meant to act as a deterrent. It also has a positive effect for consumers: It allows tourists who have booked package deals to cancel free of charge.

(Source: ARD Tagesschau, German national television)