Germany continues to advise against travel

Berlin, March 16 The German government continued to call for "refraining from any travel that is not absolutely necessary", spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Whether specific areas and holiday destinations were classified as risk areas would depend on local Covid-19 incidence rates, Xinhua news agency quoted Seibert as saying at a press conference on Monday.

Just two weeks ahead of the Easter holidays, the German government on March 12 removed the Balearic Islands, some regions on the Spanish mainland and in Portugal, as well as the Bahamas in the Caribbean from the Robert Koch Institute's risk list so that no quarantine would be required on return to Germany.

The prospects for holidaymakers to "spend Easter in the sun are improving", said the German Travel Association.

Germany-based tourism group TUI also said that it expected "a leap in last-minute bookings at Easter".

( With inputs from IANS )