2G+

This reg is going into effect in Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Fulda, and Darmstadt tomorrow or Sunday. It includes museums, zoos, botanical gardens, theaters, etc.

So do you guys know whether a US visitor who is 2x vaccinated + boosted must present DIGITAL documentation to exercise their right to eat in public, etc.? Or will this visitor's standard CDC card meet this requirement?

I just saw this on one of the museum pages. I don't know what they consider proof but it sounds like it does not need to be digital. I know it's not a bar or restaurant but I can't imagine they will require EU digital certificates for people who cannot get them.

Visitors from non-EU countries will be admitted without digitally verifiable proof of vaccination if they can prove that they have been vaccinated with a vaccine approved in the EU.

I also just read this article on DW about the new law. Unfortunately, there is no mention of whether the proof must be digital for non-EU visitors. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-tightens-covid-19-restrictions-on-bars-and-restaurants/a-60355944

And here's an article that gives more detail - it sounds like some of the country is not planning on enforcing the rule at this time. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/nation-world/story/2022-01-07/germany-mulls-new-covid-restrictions-as-omicron-advances

Russ, I do not know. Here is what I think at least in Bavaria... It will come down to the establishment. They are responsible that the guest, visitor or user as well as the employee or volunteer presents proof of vaccination, convalescence or testing. The establishment can be fined EUR 5000 for violations. Entry Registration, CDC card (vaccination proof) and passport are required to enter Germany currently from the US as a high-risk area. That is probably enough. An ID (US Passport) is required to verify your vaccination proof is yours. With the EU Digital Certificate they usually check that birth dates match. It is much easier for a restaurant to scan a EU Digital QR code and receive instant verification, and then check an ID to verify it is you. Maybe more info will be forthcoming in the following days?

mchpp and Russ, you two know much much more about Germany than I ever will, but when I read the actual document (translated), which says that proof shall be either written or digital in German, English, Spanish and French, it sounds like it will be up to the actual establishments to determine if that proof is valid.

So mchpp, I think you're right in that it's going to be whatever is easiest for the restaurants. I'm hoping things will have died down by the time I go in May. Either that, or the US and the states get on the ball about internationally (or even US) recognized digital vaccination certificates.

Yes, well these are just the guidelines from the minister-president conference. We will need to wait to see how each Bundesland writes the precise rules, as they have some freedom.

About digital proof: that is also a Bundesland issue, so will continue to vary from place to place. I know Berlin has a digital proof requirement along with at least Brandenburg and Baden-Württemberg. Berlin has an exception for people from outside the EU (see here, "Zulassung von geimpften Nicht-EU-Ausländer:innen"). To my knowledge, B-W at least does not have this exception.

Anecdotally, I have been in B-W, Bayern and Hessen in the last two weeks, and will say that scanning of codes has been universal in B-W, even in small stores, but not in the other two--there the yellow Impfpass still works, so I assume (?) other paper documentation would work, at least in places that are used to tourists. Also, note, you must also have valid government-issued ID with you when you show your immunisation proof. They are checking.

Mardee: Which document are you reading? One for Bayern? The question of how to put the rules into place is what we called in German a "Ländersache", so it will differ from state to state in its implementation.

We just got back from 2.5 weeks in Germany, mainly in the Frankfurt and Quedlinburg area. My husband and I are 2x vaccinated plus boosted. Our children are 2x vaccinated (ages 12, and 9). We had no issues using only our CDC cards as proof in all areas. Nobody asked for a QR code, which is good since we didn't try to get one. Technically, as I understand it, the QR code system is for EU residents not US residents. All restaurants checked our forms and had us complete a paper form for contact tracing purposes. The only time we had any issue was while in Wernigerode. They weren't sure what to make of the kids' 2x vaccination (since the rules are written for Germans and their kiddos haven't been eligible long enough to get double vaccinated). We didn't have negative tests for the kids. Maybe we should have, but the TI office didn't think we needed it since the kids were so recently double vaccinated. Ultimately, we weren't denied service. Stores in the Harz Mountain region never once checked our vaccination status. I think they're supposed to, but I honestly think they couldn't handle the extra work load since most were small stores with just one employee running the place. However, the friends we visited in the Frankfurt region said all stores in their area check status. In the end we had an amazing trip. Played it safe and mostly just did outdoor stuff. And we had absolutely no trouble with COVID related rules & regs.

Azra, it was from Hamburg and I did hear that many cities are not planning on enforcing it at this time. Here is a link to it. https://www.luewu.de/docs/gvbl/docs/2501.pdf

That being said, I'm little worried about making sure my booster status will be valid in Germany. I'm not leaving for several months but who knows what will happen? At any rate, I've been looking online for any information about getting my vaccine documentation into the CovPass. I found this article a little bit ago that spells it out in detail - it's from U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Public Affairs Office and details the whole process, including a website where you can search for pharmacies that provide the digital transcript. The site also said, Although community members have generally reported few problems with this process throughout the region, pharmacies located closer to a military installation may be more familiar with U.S.-standard vaccination cards. So that is something to think about. The site page was published on 12/1/21, so is pretty current.

https://www.stuttgartcitizen.com/news/local-pharmacies-offer-transcription-of-cdc-vaccine-cards-into-eu-digital-standard/

B-W at least does not have this exception.

Right.

It's B-W's duty to put into practice the federal mandate... so it's reasonable that B-W (or some other Landesregierung) might desire a single, UNIFORM mechanism for verifying vax status. But there's no routine method in place for visiting Americans or other foreigners to comply with the digital mandate; my understanding is that pharmacies that do offer this conversion to digital documents are in non-compliance and subject to fines or prosecution. So as strange as it sounds, even though you may have entered Germany with your CDC card showing you're fully vaxed and "geboostet", even though you are in 100% health compliance with federal law for German restaurants, bars, museums etc., a visit to B-W means that without constant testing, you'll be preparing your own meals and denied entrance at the places you hoped to visit.

Perhaps this will change. It wouldn't be that hard... AFAIK B-W still recognizes the non-digital vax docs that are carried by US military personnel, and those folks will still have access if they've been boosted. Recognizing CDC docs + passports - the same docs that the German feds and other states are recognizing - would not be that much of a stretch. And it's a lot simpler than digitalizing everyone foreign visitor's CDC docs.

If you're like most US visitors you probably don't recognize Baden-Württemberg as a German place name, so maybe this map will help you avoid the place until things do change:

https://www.nationsonline.org/maps/BW1000.jpg

B-W within Germany:
https://ontheworldmap.com/germany/state/baden-wurttemberg/baden-wurttemberg-location-on-the-germany-map.jpg

Apparently Bavaria rejected the 2G+ requirement for restaurants today. The 2G requirement remains without an additional test or a booster vaccination. Pubs, bars and Discos remain completely closed. If I heard it correctly, Sachsen-Anhalt also rejected the 2G+ requirement. No telling what the next weeks will bring.

A very short time ago Germany was going to vary anti-covid measures (nil, 2G, 2G+, & further measures) in each German state (Land) by the Covid hospital incidence rate. That must have been confusing as the hospital incidence rates were fluctuating rapidly. A national 2G+ standard would seem simpler to follow as an incoming tourist but seems unacceptable to a large minority of Germany citizens. Now some German lands like our own states are balking at a national standard.

We had another thread that rightly reminded us that it is our duty as visitors to know and follow the laws of the country we are visiting. That has become a fast moving target. What someone experienced 2 weeks ago may be meaningless today. I wonder if even official diplomatic websites are being kept up to date.

We are not visiting until May. Hopefully this Covid peak will have subsided by them. I wonder if the dust will have settled enough to understand how to behave as visitors to Germany. That can also be said for visitors coming to the USA.