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Austria to close borders with Czech Republic and Slovakia at midnight

The Local Austria
The Local Austria - [email protected]
Austria to close borders with Czech Republic and Slovakia at midnight
A car at the border between Austria and Slovakia. Photo: VLADIMIR SIMICEK / AFP

Amid rising case numbers, Austria is set to close its borders with the Czech Republic and Slovakia at midnight on Friday.

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Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) made the announcement on Friday afternoon. 

Smaller border crossings will be closed completely, while fixed controls will be put in place at larger border crossings. 

Previously, Austria had put in place a series of mobile controls which would check people at random. 

Austria's coronavirus quarantine: More than 10,000 stopped at border 

As reported on Tuesday by The Local Austria, Austria has carried out more than 770,000 checks since the mandatory quarantine regulation came into effect on December 19th. 

Of those, around 10,000 people - mainly third-country nationals - have been refused entry to Austria. Around 55,000 of those checked have been ordered into home quarantine.

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‘Extremely tense’ 

Nehammer described the situation in Slovakia and the Czech Republic as “extremely tense”. 

“The Czech Republic in particular has massive numbers of new infections with a seven-day incidence of 680 (per 100,000 people) at the moment,” Nehammer said. 

“To protect the people in our country, we are closing the borders at this point and checking every vehicle when entering Austria”. 

Everyone entering Austria will need to sign document indicating they are committing to quarantine. If this document is not signed, entry will be refused. 

Cross-border commuters will be allowed to enter and to avoid the quarantine requirement, however all cross-border workers will need to show evidence that they have an employer in Austria. 

More information about Austria’s coronavirus quarantine is available at the following links. 

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