Germany has implemented new border restrictions to prevent the spread of more infectious variants of the coronavirus in the country.
The German government will limit border crossings between the Czech Republic and the Austrian province of Tyrol, with permission for only health workers, truck drivers and residents and citizens of Germany, according to The Associated Press.
Although coronavirus cases in Germany have declined slowly in recent weeks, the most contagious strains in South Africa and Britain have been detected within their borders. Many more cases of the British variant have been detected in Tyrol, which has led Austria to demand a negative test in order to travel across the rest of the country.
“[N]not taking the mutations seriously would have significant consequences, ”said Markus Soeder, governor of Bavaria, who borders the two countries.
Infection rates are particularly high in districts along the Czech border, he noted, according to the AP. He also said that the Czech parliament’s failure to extend the country’s state of emergency further complicated matters.
“In addition, there is concern at the moment with our Czech partners that it is not clear what will happen to their corona management,” said Soeder. “We are friends, we help; we will be happy to receive Czech patients if we want, but it is clear that if there were no measures at the border, that would mean a significant danger ”.
German authorities rejected about 300 of the 717 people who tried to cross the Bavarian-Czech border on Sunday morning, saying they were not among the approved categories. A smaller percentage, 247 people over 1,000, was rejected on the border between Germany and Tyrol.
State governors and German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached an agreement last Wednesday to maintain most blockade measures across the country in effect until March 7, with the aim of reducing new weekly cases to 35 per 100,000 people before stores and museums can reopen.