Germany has removed France, Greece, Switzerland and parts of Spain from its list of coronavirus risk areas.

The change comes into force from Sunday, and means people arriving from these places will no longer be required to present a negative test or quarantine for 10 days.

Countries such as Greece and Spain, which rely heavily on tourism, have seen their economies suffer as a result of coronavirus travel restrictions.

Air travelers still face restrictions

The relaxed rules will only apply to those traveling by land. Anyone arriving by plane will still have to present a negative test result, proof of vaccination, or proof of recovery from the virus before their departure.

In Spain, Catalonia with its coastal city Barcelona, as well as the Costa Brava and Madrid will no longer be classed as risk areas from Sunday. 

A number of other places were also removed from the travel risk list, including Belgium, southern Denmark, Estonia, Jordan, Lithuania, three provinces in the Netherlands, Norway, the Palestinian Territories, several regions in Slovenia and St. Lucia.

nm/msh (Reuters, dpa)