Germany to loosen COVID-19 entry rules over the summer

Germany's health minister says the government plans to suspend a pandemic rule requiring people to show proof of vaccination, a negative test result or recent recovery from COVID-19 to enter the country over the summer.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told the Funke newspaper group in comments published Wednesday that the rule, which applies to everyone age 12 and above regardless of where they are traveling from, will be suspended from June 1 to the end of August.

Germany has not had any countries on its list of "high-risk areas" for the coronavirus since early March.

Confirmed coronavirus case numbers have declined steadily in Germany in recent weeks, and most restrictions have been lifted.

However, the government last week announced plans to spend another 830 million euros ($889 million) to buy vaccines that would help the country deal with a series of possible variants in the fall.

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