Germany to loosen COVID-19 entry rules over the summer

BERLIN (AP) — 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 will be suspended from June 1 to the end of August. The rule applies to everyone age 12 and above regardless of where they are traveling from. Germany hasn’t had any countries on its list of “high-risk areas” since early March. However, the government last week announced plans to buy vaccines to help deal with a series of possible variants in the fall.