In the latest ministerial vote of the Federal Republic of Germany, with effect from Sunday (August 1), South Africa and Namibia will be downgraded from being classified as “virus variant areas” by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) – the public health institute in Germany – to now being designated areas of “High Risk”.

“This means it is now easier to enter Germany from South Africa or Namibia, given that the quarantine period is only ten days instead of fourteen days and can be ended after just five days with a negative PCR test,” explains Lufthansa General Manager Southern Africa & East Africa,  Dr André Schulz.

Passengers who have been fully vaccinated with approved vaccines and come from High Risk areas do not need to be quarantined at all. Additionally, unlike in virus variant areas, there is no transport ban for travellers without German or EU citizenship.

“It is without doubt that this news will have a significant impact on our day to day business, and is welcomed by us all with great excitement and elation. Based on these new regulations the airlines of the Lufthansa Group will continuously re-evaluate and adjust our capacity to meet the demand according to our customers’ needs,” said Schulz.