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Autumn is coming – normally many Germans would now fly into the sun again, on Greek islands or on beaches in the Far East. But the corona crisis is coming to a head again, with the number of infections increasing both domestically and abroad. It is not easy to travel during this time, and not only because of the appeal by the Minister of Health to stop your vacation abroad.

The global travel warning that the federal government issued in March and that was gradually eased over the course of the summer, especially within the European Union, ends on Wednesday. But for holidaymakers this does not mean the end of all travel hurdles, because there are new rules. The overview (as of September 30):

What will change from October?

The Federal Foreign Office (AA) has defined the following basic rules, which will apply from October 1st with regard to Covid-19:

• A Travel warning For unnecessary, tourist trips, basically applies to all countries that are classified by the federal government as a corona risk area, according to the website of the Federal Foreign Office. What is new is that a travel warning now automatically applies to risk areas, as the cabinet decided three weeks ago. So far, the procedure has been: First the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) declares a country a risk area, then the federal government issues a travel warning. This happened, for example, in mid-August, when mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands were again designated as risk areas after the easing in June. The travel warning is not a ban, but it should have the greatest possible deterrent effect. In a legal sense, it can have a positive effect on package holidaymakers: They get their money back if they cancel a trip they have already booked if the destination is declared a risk area.

• “For countries for which entry is only possible to a limited extent, for which quarantine is planned after entry or which do not allow unrestricted travel in an overall view, as a rule We advise against unnecessary tourist trips“, writes the AA.” There is no travel warning, but due to the circumstances in the country you are traveling to, you should generally avoid such trips. “In particular, short or tourist trips made little sense because of the local regulations.

• “For countries in which the incidence of infection is low and there are unrestricted travel options and no other reasons speak against it, the travel warning is lifted and to be particularly careful. “The Foreign Office warns:” The pandemic is not over yet. “Because the situation can change quickly, the urgent appeal is: inform yourself well about the developments on site – and be sure to observe protective measures!” It can still happen that short-term measures such as curfews or travel restrictions are imposed. “

How do I know what the corona situation is like in the holiday country?

The move away from the general travel warning also means: “From October 1, 2020, comprehensively differentiated travel and safety information and travel warnings will apply again for individual countries,” reports the AA. Here is an overview of all countries.

The RKI also regularly updates its list of countries in which there is an increased risk of infection with the coronavirus. On Wednesday morning there were 121 countries that were considered entirely risk areas, and a further 13 countries with individual regions. Together that is around two thirds of the countries in the world.

Because of the rapidly increasing number of infections, one travel warning after another was reactivated in Europe too. 15 out of 27 EU countries are now partially or completely affected. Of the Germans’ favorite European holiday destinations, only Greece and Italy are currently without a risk area. There are also non-European countries that are currently not risk areas according to the RKI: for example Tunisia, Georgia, Japan, Thailand and China (as of September 30).

What will change for travelers after their return?

The new rules for travelers who have been in a risk area are still at the drafting stage. But if the federal government’s plans become law, then it will be from mid-October Please note the following:

• The federal government and the federal states had already agreed at the end of August that travelers returning from risk areas could be in for at least five days from mid-October quarantine have to go – and only then should a corona test be done. In a resolution of August 27, it says: “The previous possibility in numerous federal states of being able to end self-isolation early with a test shortly before or after entering Germany includes the problem that infections at the end of the stay in the risk area or during the return journey are not recorded. “

• In addition, passengers arriving to Germany from a risk area are to register via an online portal in the future. “The Digital entry registration should be ready for use by October 15, “said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) to SPIEGEL. According to the information, travelers would have to show their entry in the register at the border control, for example, printed or digitally.

• Also one Reporting requirement at the local authorities it should be in October, but this is not new. “Anyone who has been in a risk area in the 14 days prior to entry must report to the responsible health authority and provide the address”, is already the rule. According to the BMI spokesman, failure to comply with the reporting obligations can be punished with a fine of up to 25,000 euros.

In the coming week, the new model ordinance on entry and quarantine regulations is to be passed in the Corona cabinet. However, it is initially only a suggestion for the federal states, which in turn issue quarantine regulations.

Covid-19 is also so treacherous because you do not notice anything about an infection with Sars-CoV-2 at the beginning, but quickly becomes a carrier – this is of course also possible at the end of a vacation. The incubation period, i.e. the time from infection to the possible appearance of symptoms, averages five to six days. This time is considered a highly infectious phase. Anyone who has a negative test in the country of travel shortly before departure can still get infected on the return journey and infect others – without noticing it. It is precisely this risk that you want to avoid with a five-day quarantine. After five days, in most cases, a PCR test can be used to determine whether a person has become infected or not.

How is the travel industry reacting?

The German Travel Association (DRV) describes the federal government’s plan to have returnees from risk areas undergo a corona test after five days of quarantine at the earliest as “forced quarantine”. The industry fears massive economic consequences. “If the quarantine rule comes out as currently planned, that means a de facto shutdown of travel activities,” writes the DRV on its website. Much of the package tour destinations would be blocked by this general quarantine rule. “That is disproportionate.” According to the DRV, “other, equally suitable and milder means are available” with which an adequate risk minimization can be achieved. “It is possible and much more sensible to further develop, differentiate and expand the test strategy than to quarantine mostly healthy, non-infected people.”

The Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry (BDLI) also criticizes the planned travel regulations. “If the federal and state governments replace successful testing with a blanket quarantine obligation, then that amounts to shutting down flight operations,” said BDLI President Dirk Hoke.

It remains to be seen whether it will really get that far. After all, the plans in progress and the persistence of travel warnings do not mean that all package holidays are canceled: The world’s largest travel operator TUI wants to start offering trips to the Canary Islands again from October 3rd – which the Federal Foreign Office is currently warning of. For package tours, for example to Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Fuerteventura, vacationers should be able to decide for themselves whether they will start their vacation when they return to Germany despite the risk of infection and possible quarantine, said the tourism group’s head of Germany, Marek Andryszak, earlier this week. “We firmly believe that many customers will weigh this carefully.” He believes that the opportunity to be tested will mean that many customers will go on holiday despite the travel warning.

Since the travel warning for the whole of Spain, TUI has significantly reduced flights to the Canary Islands. Andryszak emphasizes that the travel company does not oppose the federal government with its Canary Islands announcement. The travel warnings are not a travel ban, but a recommendation to be careful. “And that’s exactly what we’re following,” he said.

With material from dpa

Note: In an earlier version of this text it was stated that of the non-European countries only Tunisia and Georgia are not RKI risk areas. That is not correct. We have corrected the position.

$ 88.6 billion. This estimated value, but surely higher in practice, depending on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), only concerns capital that has left African countries. In a physical way, but above all in the form of tax loss. Clearly, the continent has not taken full advantage of the wealth it has produced. Based on this figure, the UNCTAD report highlights a paradox. Africa, reputed to be poor, gives more than it receives! Indeed, development aid in Africa, provided by rich countries, amounts to 48 billion dollars annually. Or half of the flight of capital.

This is obviously only an estimate, since it is a question of illegal and therefore secret operations. “Objectively, it would be practically impossible to acquire complete information on illicit financial flows precisely because of their illicit nature, since those responsible for these flows deliberately and systematically measures to conceal them “, wrote in 2015 Thabo Mbeki, president of the High Level Group of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) within the UN. The group was created in 2011, in order to provide elements to the rulers to try to stem a phenomenon increasingly present in Africa.

Unctad groups these embezzlements together under the name of illicit financial flows (IFF). Sources are broadly classified into three categories: criminal activity, business activity and corruption. If smuggling is known and corruption regularly denounced because it is not combated, it is in the commercial field that illicit financial flows are the most important.

In this area, false invoicing is the essential element of fraud. It consists of minimizing volumes or prices in order to reduce the taxes that are due. According to the report, the tax shortfall amounts to between 30 and 52 billion dollars each year.

The extractive industries are by far the most affected and in particular oil, which represents more than half (56%) of these illicit flows. Note that all sectors of activity are affected, including fishing, which ranks 10th. Proof of the extent of the embezzlement.

The report insists on the impact of this flight of financial resources on the populations. Obviously, development policies are hampered by this lack of financial resources. Unctad denounces a “fiscal haemorrhage”, which deprives countries “the resources necessary to finance development expenditure”. Thus, notes the report, in Africa, “one sixth of government revenue comes from corporate taxes (for a total of $ 67 billion in 2015) and the cost of tax evasion is about one tenth of this total”.

Especially since the recovery of fraud is low, in particular because of the slowness of the international legal process. The recovery of “ill-gotten gains” only represents an aggregate of $ 1.5 billion, or 0.5% of the estimated flight capital.

But this thick report is hardly prolix on the beneficiaries of this trafficking. Perhaps because he wants to help African leaders, he is not pillorying anyone. It is justified by specifying that in the field, the techniques of concealment are numerous and complex to pierce. The UNCTAD, however, sheds light on the mechanisms of fraud and the level of the shortfall. And it leaves it to the press to denounce the culprits …

The last appointment of a conservative or climate skeptic in the USA ten days ago, it is that of David Legates, professor of geography at the University of Delaware. He became deputy director of NOAA: the national agency for atmospheric and oceanic observation. He does not deny the ongoing climate change, but he does not see the responsibility of fossil fuels. It must be said that David Legates is closely linked to the Heartland Institute, a think tank funded by oil producers.