Germany is to shut its borders with the Czech Republic and the Austrian Tyrol region, as both zones have high infection rates of contagious COVID-19 variants.
Horst Seehofer informed the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that the measure will come under force on Sunday evening, with some exceptions which are currently under discussion.
The Tyrol and the Czech regions bordering Germany will be classified on the list of territories highly affected by virus mutations, Seehofer stated.
Travelers coming from certain areas of Austria or the Czech Republic will have to show proof of a negative coronavirus test in order to enter Germany, a requirement that will present a hurdle for thousands of cross-border staff.
It isn’t clear how long the border controls will last.
Bavaria Governor Markus Soeder, whose state borders both Austria and the Czech Republic, stated earlier Thursday that in the event of such action by the federal government, Bavaria would request permission to erect border posts where travelers who don’t show a negative COVID-19 test would be turned away.
Soeder stated all the regions of Bavaria with high coronavirus infection rates, except for one, are located on the German-Czech border.
Germany’s restricted list already includes the likes of Britain, South Africa, Brazil, and Portugal, all nations from which most journeys had been banned at the end of last month.
These restrictions don’t affect Germans residing in those nations, nationals from those nations residing in Germany, transit passengers, or freight visitors.
Exemptions could be set out for certain categories regarding Austria and the Czech Republic, in particular, to protect Germany’s shut economic ties with those nations.
The Czech government announced on Thursday that it was isolating three areas, including two which border Germany, due to a high incidence of the British variant of the coronavirus.
Residents are not allowed to leave these areas, and no-one can enter apart from certain exceptions, stated the government in Prague.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the nation’s 16 governors decided on Wednesday to largely extend the nation’s coronavirus lockdown till March 7 amid concern that new virus variants could reverse a decline in new confirmed cases.
In a speech to Parliament on Thursday, Merkel defended her government’s decision to set a lower infection target for easing the lockdown further: a lot of new weekly cases per 100,000 inhabitants below 35.
