Germany will restore masks on planes from October

German authorities said the country will take domestic measures to protect against COVID-19 in October. The German government believes that the number of infections will start to rise again as the temperature drops. Thus, it was decided to implement measures to prevent the spread of the virus in the autumn-winter period.

Officials said that from October 2022, the mask regime should be applied in air and intercity public transport in some areas of the country.

"In certain areas of the country, special protective measures - the requirement to wear a mask in the air and on long-distance public transport, in hospitals and other medical institutions - should be applied."
In addition, federal states may require citizens, as well as tourists, to wear masks when using local public transportation and visiting various indoor public places, including sporting events and restaurants. However, it stressed that anyone who tests negative, as well as anyone who has been vaccinated or recovered from the virus, should be exempted from wearing a mask.

At the same time, local governments have the right to apply their own rules and apply additional measures if the health system is at risk. In addition to announcing new domestic measures, the government said Germany would not tighten entry rules for foreign tourists. So, one of its recent press releases clearly states that all arriving travelers are still free to present vaccination certificates, recovery or test certificates.