Germany is putting in place a temporary ban on all travellers arriving from the UK except from its own residents due to concerns over the spread of a Covid variant first discovered in India.

The move means significant restrictions on travel will come into force on Sunday. Airlines, rail and bus companies will only be able to bring German citizens or residents into the country. Arrivals in Germany will have to spend two weeks in quarantine, with no possible reduction even if they test negative for the virus.

"This step is hard for Britain but it is necessary to prevent the fast spread of the Indian variant in Germany," a spokesman for German Health Minister Jens Spahn said. "If we want to continue to push down infection numbers, we must prevent contagious virus variants from jeopardizing the positive developments. "We will only be armed against this kind of danger when more people are vaccinated." he said.

The UK is the first country in Europe to be identified as a virus variant area, Germany's highest risk category, for some time. The category currently applies to 11 countries in Asia, Africa and South America.

The Indian variant also known as B.1.617.2 is thought to be more contagious than other strains and is considered the driving factor behind the devastating second wave in the country. The UK recorded more than 3,400 cases of the variant as of May 19.

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