For German vacationers, boat and yacht owners as well as charter guests a journey to Croatia over Whitsun without subsequent quarantine after entry into Germany might come within reach. As the SeaHelp editorship from usually well informed, the individual responsible ministries close circles learned, Germany plans to downgrade Croatia still this week from the high incidence area to the risk area. For Germans who want to escape from the current weather caprices in their home country at Whitsun and instead enjoy the southern sun of the Adriatic Sea, it then means: after the return trip, a short test at home at one of the well-known testing stations, which can be found almost in every town and life goes on carefree without quarantine.
Croatia: downgraded from high incidence area to risk area
The facts for Whitsun vacations in Croatia without a longer subsequent quarantine are obvious: According to RKI, the declaration on the classification of high-incidence areas, which also includes Croatia, states: “High-incidence areas are risk areas with particularly high numbers of cases. As with risk areas, classification as a high-incidence area is based on a two-step assessment. First, it is determined in which states/regions there were more than 200 newly infected persons per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days. Using other qualitative and quantitative criteria, the second step can determine whether a particularly elevated or not particularly elevated risk of infection is warranted despite an under- or over-incidence.”
Prerequisite: 7-day incidence below 200
In Croatia, the 7-day incidence since May 12, 2021, was below 200 new infected persons, exactly 187.9 on May 12, 2021, following the overall European trend: on May 17. May 2021, it was exactly 140.9 and is expected to continue falling until the next review of incidence figures, so that, as one insider reported, it is almost certain that Croatia will be downgraded from a high-incidence area to a high-risk area on the Thursday or Friday before Whitsun.
Test on entry Germany lifts quarantine
According to the ordinance contained in Germany’s Coronavirus Entry Ordinance adopted on May 12 states for returnees from risk areas according to § 4, paragraph 2: “The segregation … shall take place for a period of ten days. Segregation shall end … before the expiration of ten days for recovered, vaccinated or tested persons if they submit proof of recovery, proof of vaccination or proof of testing … to the competent authority.”
Tests entry Germany in Croatia and Germany possible
In practice, this means: travel returnees from Croatia, who are traveling by car, need the digital travel registration when entering Germany, but not necessarily a negative test, so that they are immediately released from the quarantine obligation. They can have the test done in Croatia at one of the numerous test stations, but also immediately after their return to a test center in their home town, or in the test centers near the highway on the return trip. Those who get tested in Germany usually even receive the test free of charge; an inquiry at the local test center provides clarity. To this end, the Coronavirus Entry Ordinance states, “Segregation … shall be suspended for the period necessary to conduct a test.”
Suspension from day 5 is not applicable
To make the somewhat complicated legal issue clearer, because other media probably report again differentiated: When returning from a risk area, one must of course also go into quarantine, but can “free” oneself from quarantine immediately after the return by immediate free testing and not only after the fifth day.
Pentecost vacation in Croatia without quarantine in Germany
Even if this regulation was initially communicated only behind closed doors on the part of the responsible agencies, that is, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Health, and of course no one wanted to be quoted with resilient words, this speaks a lot for the fact that with the downgrading of Croatia, and possibly Slovenia, the last-minute Pentecost vacation on the Croatian Adriatic coast in 2021 will be possible without quarantine. Of course, we will report here if that, which not only we suspect, will be implemented.
But in conclusion: Falling figures, both for 7-day incidence and 14-day incidence should soon make travel in Europe possible again without the subsequent need for domestic quarantine after entry into the home country. Whether Austria will also decide to relax the post-entry quarantine requirements and thus follow the German example remains to be seen.
