Germany’s vast Inhorgenta jewellery and watch show has shifted to April to give it the best chance of proceeding in a far more benign period of covid-related restrictions.
WATCHPRO broke the news yesterday that the decision to postpone from February 11 to 14 had been made.
That was confirmed overnight with new dates of April 8 to 11 given for the rescheduled event.
The April dates make it possible for retailers to travel to Geneva for Watches and Wonders from March 30 to April 6 and then onto Inhorgenta in Munich two days later.
Germany has been comparatively successful at suppressing covid cases throughout the pandemic, recording 7.5 million infections over the past two years compared to almost 15 million in the UK.
The current omicron wave has also been lower than in the UK, but German businesses and citizens have been subjected to far tighter restrictions over Christmas and the new year.
The country is currently experiencing around 50,000 infections per day on a seven day average, and they have been continuing to rise in recent days.
Tuesday was a new record, with over 120,000 cases.
Travel to Germany is also complicated.
The country uses a two-tier system of risk categories (virus variant areas and high-risk areas), with distinct rules on entry and quarantine for each tier.
The UK is designated as a ‘high-risk area’ by Germany meaning only fully vaccinated people can enter the country.
