Dhaka: Germany on January 4 ended its strict restrictions for travellers arriving from a series of countries with particularly high rates of omicron infections.

Nine countries, including the United Kingdom and South Africa as well as several other southern African states had been placed on the list of areas of variant concern in late 2021 by Germany. However, all these countries have been downgraded to the list of high-risk areas.

While restrictions on travellers from this category still remain, they are lighter for vaccinated people.

The Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI) had already announced on December 30 that effective from January 4, no more countries would be put on the variant concern list due to Omicron.

The restrictions for travellers entering Germany from countries on the list of areas of variant concern included a mandatory 14-day quarantine with no option of shortening it with proof of vaccination or negative test. It also limited entry to German citizens or the country's residents from areas of variant concern.

Under the rules for travellers from high-risk areas, people who can show proof of vaccination do not need to isolate. Unvaccinated travellers need to quarantine for 10 days but can shorten it to five if they test negative.