Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Germany, fearing new coronavirus variants, imposes border checks with Austria and Czech Republic

Germany, fearing new coronavirus variants, imposes border checks with Austria and Czech Republic

Central Europe has become the continent's latest coronavirus hotspot, with Austria struggling to contain an outbreak of the new variant first identified in South Africa and neighboring Czech Republic facing hospital bed shortages on top of a political crisis over lockdowns.
The worsening situation in the Austrian province of Tyrol and the Czech Republic forced Germany to announce new border controls with both countries to contain the spread of the disease. German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the new rules, which will come into effect on Sunday, were "unavoidable."

''To protect the population from virus mutations -- this is why the federal government decided yesterday to declare the Czech Republic, Tyrol and Slovakia as coronavirus variant areas," Spahn said at a news conference Friday.

"This means there will be a ban on transportation -- and without exceptions tests must be made before entering Germany -- and there is an obligation to quarantine.'

Coronavirus cases have been falling in Germany recently despite the new, more contagious variants. On Friday, the country recorded 9,860 new infections -- a drop of 3,048 cases compared to the same day last week. Austria and the Czech Republic have not seen similar drops in cases.

The Tyrol government said Wednesday that as of Tuesday, it had identified 438 confirmed and suspected cases of the South African variant. Scientists are concerned about this strain because its mutations appear to reduce the efficacy of some of the coronavirus vaccines.

In an attempt to contain the spread of the variant, local authorities deployed 1,200 police officers and soldiers. Starting Friday at midnight and lasting for 10 days, they will be deployed to Tyrol's border checkpoints to ensure that anyone trying to leave the province has a negative coronavirus test no older than 48 hours, Tyrol police spokesman Stefan Eder told CNN.

Children, freight traffic and travelers transiting through Tyrol are exempt from the rule.

Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, the parliament refused to extend the state of emergency on Thursday. As a result, many of the country's coronavirus restrictions are set to lift automatically on Sunday when the current state of emergency expires, despite the fact that the virus continues to spread fast through the country.

Czech Health Minister Jan Blatny warned that any easing of restrictions at this point would lead to the health system being at risk of running out of capacity. That is already happening in some hospitals in the country's westernmost Karlovarsky region.

The decision was a result of a deep political spat between the minority government, led by the populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, and the opposition, which has accused Babiš of not doing enough to contain the virus.

Among others, the opposition argued that the government's lack of financial support for individuals and businesses impacted by the pandemic means people are not following the rules and are skipping quarantines because they cannot afford to risk losing their income.

When Babiš refused to take their proposals on board, the opposition voted against the extension of the state of emergency. The country is holding key parliamentary election later this year.

The Czech Republic has reported more than 1 million cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the country's health ministry data. In terms of Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people, it is the fifth worst in the world, after San Marino, Belgium, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That is despite the country escaping the first wave of the pandemic last spring relatively unscathed.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×