... with five countries due to coronavirus crisis
A German police officer wearing a facemask controls drivers at the French and German border between the cities of Strasbourg and Kehl on March 12, 2020 as part of measures taken due to the COVID-19 ou
15 March 2020
15:43 CET+01:00
Germany will reintroduce border controls with France, Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg and Denmark from Monday morning due to the coronavirus crisis, to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced the closures on Sunday evening during a press conference.
"The spread of the coronavirus is progressing quickly and aggressively...one of the most important measures will be to cut off the chain of infection," Seehofer told reporters as he announced the new border controls.
The measures will take effect at 8am Monday (and from 6am on the Denmark border) with goods and cross-border commuters exempt.
German citizens and people with a residency permit will be allowed to return to the country.
People "without a significant reason to travel" and those suspected of having been infected with the virus will not be allowed to cross the affected borders, he said.
Seehofer stressed the new controls would be temporary, and would be reassessed "from time to time".
But the high point of the coronavirus crisis had not yet been reached, he warned, urging citizens to avoid social contact.
The decision had been taken after the Robert Koch Institute, which is responsible for public health in Germany, had declared that the French border region of Alsace-Lorraine as a risk area.
"This sparked a lot of questions and unrest in the neighbouring states," he said.
Germany is one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The country now has more than 5,500 confirmed coronavirus cases, a jump of over 1,000 compared to Saturday. There are 12 reported deaths.
A source close to the matter had told AFP earlier on Sunday about the planned border closures, confirming a report in the German media.
The popular tabloid Bild had reported that the closures would take effect on Monday.
Closing borders was not only to contain the COVID-19 epidemic but also to prevent panic bulk purchases by foreigners, which was apparently causing supply problems in areas around the borders, according to Bild.
'Limit border crossings to a minimum'
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Seehofer met with state premiers from affected German regions on Sunday to agree the closures, the newspaper claimed.
Paris, meanwhile, said the decision had been taken in coordination with the French government.
Yet the French Interior Ministry insisted that the border would not be fully closed.
"We are going to limit border crossings to the strict minimum, while allowing people and merchandise to go through. It's not a closure," a ministry source told AFP.
While the German measures currently apply to five countries, other neighbouring countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic have also closed their borders or introduced severe restrictions.
Germany had until now resisted closing its borders so as not to endanger the Schengen agreement, which guarantees free travel between European countries and has already been put under strain in recent years by the migrant crisis and the threat of jihadist terrorism.
But with Europe now considered to be the epicentre of the pandemic, calls to close the border with France had begun to emerge shortly before Sunday's decision.
"The spread of the virus has to be slowed. The basic rule should be: anyone who doesn't urgently need to cross the border should not cross the border," said Thomas Strobl, interior minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg state, which borders France and Switzerland.
