The German authorities have decided to prolong the existing Coronavirus entry restrictions until the end of May upon an evaluation that the current COVID-19 situation does not permit for the complete removal of the travel rules. The decision has been announced by the German portal deutschland.de, which is a service provided by Fazit Communication GmbH, Frankfurt-am-Main, in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.

“To protect against the spread of Coronavirus, entry regulations are to remain in force for the time being for holiday returnees and travellers to Germany,” is said in an update published by the portal.

According to the update, the move has been confirmed by a spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Health, and it means that travellers from third countries aged 12 and older will remain obliged to show proof of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 in order to be able to enter the country SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Travellers entering Germany on the basis of a COVID vaccine certificate must make sure they have been vaccinated within the last 180 days with the last shot, or have received their booster, otherwise, their vaccination will be considered invalid. At the same time, the only vaccines accepted as valid proof of vaccination for entry are those approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the ones adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Recovery certificates on the other hand, are accepted only if the traveller has been infected with COVID-19 in the last 90 days before the trip to Germany.

Those who haven’t been vaccinated, nor previously infected with COVID-19, will need to present negative Coronavirus test results, either PCR or antigen, taken within the 48 hours before arrival in Germany.

“The regulation also provides for quarantine obligations for returnees from so-called high-risk or virus-variant areas. Currently, however, no country is classified as such by the Federal Government,” is said in the update.