Cruise canceled due to pandemic: no compensation, only repayment
20. November: Vacationers are not entitled to compensation if their cruise is canceled due to the spread of a pandemic. The operator is entitled to terminate the contract – even if there is no travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office for the countries that are to be visited on the cruise. So did the Rostock District Court (Az .: 47 C 59/20) decided in the case of a cruise in Southeast Asia and Australia: the shipping company had called it off in February 2020 eight days before the start of the corona pandemic. At that time, a cruise ship was already under quarantine, another ship was banned from entering several Asian ports.
If a package tour is canceled, the organizer must repay the money. However, one vacationer also sued for compensation for lost vacation pleasure – after all, there were no travel warnings from the Foreign Office. This argument did not convince the court: there was no doubt that the pandemic was an unavoidable extraordinary circumstance. At the time of cancellation, the shipping company had to reckon with a serious risk that could impair or prevent the proper course of the voyage. Under these circumstances, there was no need for a travel warning to cancel the cruise without claiming compensation.
Iceland is now the only country in Europe without a risk area
20. November: Due to the increasing number of infections, the federal government classifies all of Lithuania and Latvia as corona risk areas. In addition, regions in Greece and Finland are placed on the risk list maintained by the Robert Koch Institute. Iceland, on the other hand, will be deleted again, making it the only country in Europe that is free from risk areas. The changes in the RKI list will be on November 22nd effective.
On the European mainland there will only be regions in Greece (western Greece), Austria (two municipalities on the German border), Estonia, Norway and Finland which Not are classified as risk areas. There are also a number of islands such as the Spanish Canaries, the Portuguese Azores and Madeira, a large part of the Greek islands, the British Isle of Man and the Channel Island of Guernsey as well as the Danish islands of Greenland and Faroe Islands.
A country or region becomes a corona risk area if more than 50 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been registered within seven days. This is usually accompanied by a travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office. Travelers can find out how the infection situation is developing in their holiday destination, which hygiene rules and warnings apply, in the travel advice from the Federal Foreign Office, and the Robert Koch Institute publishes the current list of risk areas. Worldwide, a corona travel warning is now again in effect for almost 150 of almost 200 countries, and only partially applies to ten others.
A travel warning is not a travel ban, but package tours in risk areas can be canceled. Anyone who returns to Germany from a risk area must be in quarantine, but can be freed from it after five days with a negative test.
All of Sweden and Canada from November 15th risk area
13. November: Because of the increasing number of infections, the federal government has quite Sweden and quite Canada classified as corona risk areas. In addition, other regions in Greece (North Aegean and Peloponnese), Great Britain (Kanalinsel Jersey), Norway (Vestland and Viken), Latvia (Zemgale), Estonia (Harju, Hiiu and Rapla) as well as the French overseas territory French Polynesia placed on the risk list maintained by the Robert Koch Institute. The Österbotten region in Finland on the other hand was deleted again – the Nordic country is now the only one in Europe without a risk area. The changes in the RKI list will be on November 15th effective.
New quarantine rules and digital entry registration for travelers from risk areas
8. November: For vacationers and other people who have stayed in a risk area in the ten days before entering Germany, the rules are changing: On the one hand, the paperwork is gone, but not the paperwork – it is only shifting to the digital. So far, exit cards had to be filled out in the same way, which was very impractical for many sides. A digital registration has to be completed at www.Einreiseanmeldung.de since November 8th. The information should be forwarded to the responsible health authorities and automatically deleted after 14 days. With this direct information, the often overloaded offices should be able to monitor compliance with the quarantine regulations more easily (and probably faster).
These are the second rules that have changed: Travelers from regions that the Robert Koch Institute classifies as a risk area (here is the current overview) must continue to isolate themselves immediately – but no longer for two weeks, but only for ten days. During this period, the first symptoms of Covid-19 would likely appear. Despite the digital registration, travelers still have to inform their competent authority about the quarantine obligation. The isolation can be shortened with a negative corona test after five days at the earliest – and no longer immediately after returning home.
But there are many exceptions, for example for cross-border commuters, certain professional groups and also short private visits. The federal states determine which details apply where (here is a list of links to the respective corona regulations).
Night curfew in Italy and partial lockdown in heavily affected regions
6. November: As in England and the Netherlands, for example, there is now a partial lockdown in four regions in Italy – the exit ban at night must be adhered to throughout the country. Only those of the 60 million Italians who have to go to work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. or have urgent medical reasons are allowed to leave their homes.
Museums are also closed throughout Italy. The government has divided the country into three risk zones: there are red, orange and yellow areas. The red zones also include the Lombardy in the north that Piemont and that Aosta Valley as well as in the south Calabria. Here, people have to stay at home to a large extent; there are exceptions for commuting to work or shopping. Bars, restaurants and shops that do not sell essentials are closed. There were protests across the country against the new measures, including a taxi drivers’ strike on November 6th.
Citizens are allowed to leave their homes in orange zones – but they are forbidden to drive to other places or regions. Exceptions also apply here, for example for commuters. The government rates the popular holiday destinations as orange Sicily and Apulia one. Most of the rest of Italy is a yellow zone with moderate restrictions. The tightening will initially apply until December 3rd.
Austria and Italy are almost completely risk areas
30th of October: In the EU there is only one country, Estonia, in which, according to the assessment of the federal government, there are no corona risk areas: The current list, which was published by the Robert Koch Institute and comes into force from November 1st, has grown again . More and more countries are no longer only affected with certain regions, but completely, namely now too Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Also Italy and Austria are now almost entirely a risk area: In Austria only the two exclaves Kleinwalsertal and Jungholz, which can be reached from Germany, with a total of around 5,000 inhabitants are excluded, in Italy Calabria in the south is the only exception.
For the first time since June, areas in Greece and Latvia have been classified as risk areas. Further regions are added in Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and Lithuania, as well as the small states of Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican. The only region in Estonia that was previously on the list was deleted.
Veil searches in border areas are to be expanded
28th of October: Travel only when it is absolutely necessary, this political motto applies in the fight against the further spread of the corona virus in Germany as well as in many neighboring countries. Additional controls or border closings as in the spring are not currently planned by the German side. In the regions close to the border, however, greater attention should be paid to ensuring that returnees from risk areas adhere to the quarantine requirements: “For this purpose, the veil search is intensified at all German borders within a radius of 30 kilometers to include those who come by car from risk areas to be able to control compliance with the corona regulations, “said Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) image-Newspaper.
Anyone coming from a risk area must in future also register electronically: According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the development of the digital entry registration has been completed. It replaces the exit cards previously used and is expected to be available from November 8th on the smartphone, tablet or PC.
Within Germany, tourist trips are no longer desired at all in November: From November 2nd, overnight stays may “only be made available for necessary and expressly non-tourist purposes”, decided the federal and state governments on October 28th. The ban on staying overnight is part of the package of measures against the further spread of the coronavirus. Visits to relatives should also be avoided, as well as “national day tourist trips”, so the urgent appeal.
ÖBB night trains are canceled for several weeks
28th of October: The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) are temporarily suspending the majority of their night trains to Germany due to the pandemic. Between November 8 and December 2, all Nightjet connections from Austria and Switzerland to Germany will be canceled with the exception of the Vienna-Berlin route, as an ÖBB spokesman said. Due to the increasing number of infections and travel restrictions, the occupancy rate has fallen sharply.
Specifically, it concerns the routes Vienna-Hamburg, Vienna-Düsseldorf, Innsbruck-Düsseldorf, Innsbruck-Hamburg, Zurich-Berlin and Zurich-Hamburg, as well as Vienna-Brussels and Innsbruck-Brussels. Affected passengers have been informed and can rebook on day trains or have the ticket price reimbursed. In December, the resumption is planned in time for the winter holidays.
Denmark closes borders for most German vacationers
October 22nd: Because of the increasing number of infections in Germany, Denmark is restricting vacation travel between the two countries. The Danish government warns compatriots against unnecessary trips to Germany and, conversely, does not want to let many vacationers from Germany into their own country. Exceptions are, for example, Germans who own a holiday home on site, as Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said. A valid reason for entry can be given if a German works in Denmark or wants to visit his family or partner.
Whoever is in the country does not have to leave hastily. The measure is in accordance with the corona traffic light decided in the EU last week. According to this, countries can introduce restrictions for holidaymakers from other member states if the traffic light – as it is now for Germany – is yellow. Other EU countries such as Estonia have already introduced such restrictions for holidaymakers from Germany.
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