FILE PHOTO: Flight attendants of TUI Fly wear face masks as they give instructions to German tourists on the first flight from Duesseldorf to Mallorca, two weeks before Spain starts reopening borders closed since mid-March to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, in Duesseldorf, Germany, June 15, 2020. REUTERS/Erol Dogrudogan/File Photo
Germany may introduce mandatory COVID-19 testing for holidaymakers returning from high-risk destinations after seeing a recent upsurge in new infections, the health minister said on Saturday.
"We are also checking whether it is legally possible to oblige someone to do a test, because it would be an encroachment on freedom," Reuters quotes Jens Spahn.
Spahn noted that the courts were examining all COVID-19 measures to ensure they are proportionate in light of their impact on basic rights.
By Saturday afternoon, Germany had reported 206,057 infections and 9,124 deaths, according to data from the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
The German government sees importation of cases as a possible catalyst for more cases and is keen to minimize the possibility.
Reuters reports that on Friday Spahn and his regional counterparts from Germany's 16 federal states agreed that authorities would offer returning holidaymakers free tests on a voluntary basis.