Health workers carry out COVID-19 testing in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

BERLIN — Germany's Robert Koch-Institute (RKI) on March 1 decided to remove 60 countries and territories across the world, including Việt Nam, from the list of the countries that are highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Passengers entering Germany from Việt Nam will no longer be subject to strict regulations.

The RKI stated that the probability of the Omicron variant having a severe course was less than previous prevalent variants.

The classification as a high-risk area should be reserved for areas with a particularly high incidence in the spread of a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus with higher virulence (especially disease-causing properties) compared to the Omicron variant, it said.

This new regulation will take effect from midnight on March 3, 2022.

Germany classified Việt Nam as one of the high-risk COVID-19 areas from August 15 last year. Passengers from Việt Nam entering Germany were requested to test for SARS-CoV-2 following the RT-PCR method before their flight, make online health declarations, and be quarantined for 10 days after entry.

In a related development, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in its latest travel recommendations by destination on February 28, has placed Việt Nam in the group of countries with Level 4, or Very High-Risk Assessment Level for COVID-19, joining the entire European Union, North America and nearly all of South America, Japan, and Australia.

The CDC urged its citizens to avoid travel to Level 4 destinations, and if they do, make sure they are fully vaccinated before travel. — VNS