Germany: Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder closes border with Czech Republic and Austria. He said on Sunday night that the closing of the border is to contain the spread of new variants of the coronavirus. The decision is indefinite and will apply “for as long as necessary.”
The Bavarian CSU politician stressed that “the challenges (posed by the pandemic) are becoming greater and greater” and thus the “strict entry regime” to his federal state will be maintained.
Germany closing of the border with the Czech Republic and the Austrian region will apply from Sunday. Soeder also explained during a press conference that Prague had done too little to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Also on Sunday, at the request of all the heitmen (voivodeship marshals) and the mayor of Prague, the Czech government announced a new state of emergency due to the pandemic, which will apply from Monday morning.
Soeder announced the closure of the border with the Czech Republic and Tyrol as early as Wednesday, and then explained that he was particularly concerned about the South African variant of the coronavirus spreading in Tyrol.
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This coming Wednesday, the federal authorities are to clarify what rules and exceptions will apply to cross-border traffic.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Sunday that the federal government will allow cross-border workers from the Czech Republic and Tyrol with “very important jobs” to enter the country.
On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers of German federal states decided to extend the pandemic lockdown until March 7. The current lockdown in Germany runs from mid-December and was supposed to run until February 14.
In the last 24 hours , 6,114 new cases of coronavirus were detected in Germany , 218 patients died from Covid-19. The pandemic’s death toll has therefore increased to 64,960, reports Reuters. (PAP)
Source: Polskiobserwator.de, Afronews.de