German Government Coordinating With Other European Countries On Tourism

18 May 2020, Münstertal: The waiters at the Spielweg hotel restaurant prepare the tables to receive the guests. Photo: Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa (Photo by Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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BERLIN — Germany’s foreign minister says European countries will work over the next two weeks on criteria that would help make international vacations on the continent possible this summer.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas consulted Monday with counterparts from 10 countries that are popular with German tourists, most in southern Europe.

Maas stressed the need for a coordinated safety-first approach rather than a bilateral “European competition for tourists.”

He said the ministers likely will meet again in two weeks, and officials will work on details before then — addressing issues such as whether vacationers who become infected with the coronavirus while away should be quarantined at their destinations or transported home.

Maas said “it will be necessary to tell people clearly … that there will be restrictions everywhere, on the beaches, in restaurants, in city centers.”

At present, many European borders are at least partly closed and some countries require all or most people arriving to go into quarantine for two weeks.

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  1. Wow…a country that is trying to coordinate with its neighbours! What’s next…an agreement on COVID-19 metrics that would cause them to close their borders? Gee, whodathunkit?

  2. Meanwhile, the US is stuck in the ditch and spinning its wheels. We have gone from being the first nation to irrelevancy in three and one half short years. Thanks a lot, Trump and Stein voters, I hope you are enjoying all the winning.

  3. Avatar for paulw paulw says:

    We’re still sorta kinda relevant, because US residents are now such a large potential source of disease. You know, like those infested s***hole countries.

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