The picture was not all bright: In Germany, the state of Bavaria confirmed Monday it will cancel Oktoberfest, known locally as “Wiesn,” for a second year instead of welcoming revelers from Sept. 18 to Oct. 3 as planned. Other major tourist draws, including the famed running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, have already been scrubbed because of COVID-19 concerns
“The risk is simply too great that people could be infected with the coronavirus here,” Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter told reporters. “I know how hard this is not only for the visitors, but also how much it affects all those who work at the Wiesn and now have to do without income once again from the waiters and waitresses to the stall operators, showmen and innkeepers. But the Wiesn can only exist completely or not at all.”
EU to study relaxing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people 1 minute read
Brussels, May 3 (EFE).- The European Commission on Monday proposed that member states relax Covid-19 restrictions on non-essential travel to allow people from countries with a “good” epidemiological situation and those who are fully vaccinated to enter the bloc.
In its proposal, the Commission added that an emergency brake mechanism would be introduced to help prevent the spread of virulent new variants of the coronavirus.
The proposal would grant access to people who had been administered a full course of an EU-authorized jab at least two weeks before travel, although it added that the vaccines that had completed the World Health Organization’s emergency use listing process could be included in the future.
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BRUSSELS In an announcement sure to be welcomed by travelers worldwide, EU officials on Monday proposed easing restrictions on visiting the 27-nation bloc as vaccination campaigns across the continent gather speed.
Travel to the EU is currently extremely limited except for a handful of countries with low infection rates. But with the summer season looming, the European Commission hopes that the new recommendations will help dramatically expand that list.
“The Commission proposes to allow entry to the EU for nonessential reasons not only for all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation, but also all people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorized vaccine, the EU s executive arm said.
A person would be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving the last recommended dose of a vaccine that’s received market-authorization in the EU. Children of vaccinated persons would be admitted with a negative test.
The plan, which will be debated this week, also envisions making it easier for unvaccinated persons to visit by raising the threshold for what’s considered unacceptable transmission in their home countries. For instance, Chinese tourists might not be immunized with an EU-approved vaccine, but they could still enter if their country keeps a lid on transmission.
Individual EU members can still require a negative test from travelers, though Monday’s proposals were designed to reinstitute nonessential trips instead of banning tourists and other travelers outright.