Germany will ban entry to travelers from the United Kingdom and Portugal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Germany will ban travelers from Britain, Portugal, Brazil and South Africa from entering the country to curb the spread of the most contagious variants of the Coronavirus that have been discovered in those countries, the German Interior Minister said on Thursday. Seehofer.

He said on the sidelines of a virtual meeting with his counterparts in the European Union, “To protect our population, we must ban entry to areas where these types of virus are spread.”

Belgium has already banned its residents from vacationing abroad until March to combat the spread of the new variants – the most contagious – but other members of the European Union are refusing to follow these steps for now.

Seehofer promised that Germany would go ahead with its plans even if the European Union as a whole did not agree to such measures.

“We cannot expect a European solution that meets our expectations in the near future, so we are preparing national measures,” he said.

The transportation of goods and medical supplies will not be affected by the restrictions being discussed in the government, according to Seehofer. (Information from Sabine Siebold; translated by Jorge Martinez)