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| - Germany on Wednesday added Bucharest and several other areas of Romania to a list of places considered a high risk for coronavirus infections, forcing a German minister to cancel a work trip to the Romanian capital. In its latest travel advice, the German foreign ministry warned against travel to Bucharest and 10 other areas in Romania -- including Brasov, Gorj, Prahova and Vrancea -- after already putting seven other counties on its high-risk list last week. This means that travellers entering Germany after visiting these sites must take a compulsory coronavirus test and go into quarantine if it comes back positive. German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil announced late Wednesday that he was cancelling Thursday's planned visit to Bucharest, where he was due to meet Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru. Heil said it was "with great regret" that he had to postpone the trip at short notice but that he would talk to his Romanian counterpart by video link instead. The visit was meant to discuss the plight of Romanians working on farms and in slaughterhouses in Germany, after a spate of coronavirus clusters threw a spotlight on their often dire working conditions. The latest travel warning comes amid growing concern in Germany about an upsurge in coronavirus infections at home and across Europe, partly blamed on summer travel. Germany on Wednesday recorded its highest daily increase of new infections since early May, adding 1,226 new cases. Health Minister Jens Spahn called the jump in numbers "worrying" and urged Germans to be "very alert" in the fight against the pandemic. Overall, Germany has recorded a total of 218,519 coronavirus cases and 9,207 deaths. mfp/dl
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