Germany advises against visiting Catalonia due uncontrolled outbreaks

In the week the European Covid Certificate came into force, the German government has advised its citizens against travelling to Catalonia due to the exponential increase in new cases registered in recent weeks as a result of the reopening of nightlife and increased mobility. Berlin has also included Cantabria, which from midnight tonight closes its nightlife in 16 municipalities, in the list of areas to be avoided. Thus, along with Catalonia, it joins four Spanish regions already on the list (Andalusia, Navarra, Euskadi and La Rioja).

The decision may be a blow to the Catalan tourism sector, which is barely regaining the pulse of the activity in the second pandemic summer, as the Germans are the fourth largest source market for visitors.

However, the weekly update of the list of risk areas the German executive publishes has little practical effect for travellers entering the country from these regions: these tourists will have to submit a negative test, or covid digital passport proving their immune status. This document can be downloaded free of charge and instantly from the Department of Health's La Meva Salut website if the requirements are met.

In Germany, the lists for classifying covid risks in the regions are drawn up by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for virology, in collaboration with the ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Interior and Health. Contrary to the upward trend and the alarm and concern that runs through half of Europe, the cumulative incidence over seven days has fallen this Friday in Germany to 5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a rate not recorded since last August. According to the RKI, in the previous 24 hours 649 new cases were recorded across the country and 69 covid-related deaths. In Catalonia, only yesterday almost 3,000 bew cases were diagnosed and Effective Potential Growth has soared to 282, 172 points higher than the previous day.