Germany Fights Virus Uptick With Mandatory Testing for Travelers

A traveler returning from the Ukraine receives a voluntary coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test by a German Red Cross medical staff at the new Corona test station at the central bus location in Berlin, Germany, on Aug. 5, 2020. Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

BERLIN—Germany announced mandatory tests for travelers returning from high-risk regions after new coronavirus cases breached the 1,000-a-day threshold for the first time since May, fueling fears of a return to an economically disruptive lockdown.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday free compulsory testing would be in force from Saturday after the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s public health agency, reported 1,045 new cases in a single day.