As of Saturday, Germany offers free coronavirus tests to all travelers coming back from abroad.

The ministry of health will conduct free PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests up to 72 hours after entering the country.

The number of infected cases is surging in Germany since the beginning of this week, so the government feels obliged to increase the control of the airports.

The German health minister, Jens Spahn, said, “The rise in cases is a clear warning. The virus does not take days off. Therefore: whoever returns from a trip should get a test — voluntarily and free of charge.”

Germany is one of the European countries that successfully managed the first wave, however. they are reporting new cases, mostly from people coming back from high-risk areas.

Starting next week, coronavirus diagnostic tests will be mandatory for everyone returning to the country. So far, they haven’t announced an exact date when the mandatory testing will go into effect.

There are 210,399 coronavirus cases in Germany according to the Johns Hopkins University, while  9,147 have lost their lives during the pandemic.