Source::AP
BERLIN,
The German government decided Thursday to temporarily reinstate border controls along its southeastern frontier after designating the Czech Republic and parts of Austria as “mutation areas” due to their high number of variant coronavirus cases, German news agency dpa reported.
The temporary border controls and certain entry restrictions will start Sunday at midnight, dpa reported. Travelers coming from certain areas of Austria or the Czech Republic will have to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test in order to enter Germany, a requirement that will present a hurdle for thousands of cross-border workers.
It was not clear for how long the border controls would last. Bavaria Governor Markus Soeder, whose state borders both Austria and the Czech Republic, said earlier Thursday that if the federal government designated the Czech Republic and Austria’s Tyrol region as mutation areas, Bavaria would request permission to erect border posts where travelers who don’t present a negative COVID-19 test would be turned away.
The Robert Koch Institute on Thursday added 10,237 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 666 deaths to Germany’s totals, bringing the country’s overall case count since the start of the pandemic to 2.31 million and the death toll to 63,635.
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