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Controls by the Austrian police at the Kufstein-Kiefersfelden border (on Friday)
Photo: Bildagentur Muehlanger / imago images / Roland Mühlanger
From Sunday, entry restrictions will apply at the borders with the Czech Republic and Austria: In principle, only Germans and foreigners with a residence and residence permit in Germany will be allowed into the country.
In addition, a negative corona test must be submitted, which must not be older than 48 hours.
In the case of Austria, the entry restriction specifically covers most of the federal state of Tyrol.
In addition, there is a ten-day quarantine obligation for travelers from these areas, which can be shortened after five days by a second negative test result.
There are exceptions to this - as is the case with the question of whether entry is allowed at all - only for health workers, truck drivers and other transport personnel in freight traffic.
Children under six years of age also do not have to show a negative test upon entry.
The reason for the strict entry restrictions is the increased occurrence of coronavirus mutants in the Czech Republic and Tyrol.
This Saturday, despite the imminent restrictions at the affected Bavarian border crossings, traffic was extremely quiet.
It is significantly less busy than usual on Saturdays, said a spokesman for the federal police in Passau.
Commuters are also rarely on the move.
"But there are many inquiries from citizens who are unsure and want to know what will happen next."
For example, there were hardly any vehicles on the border with Austria near Kiefersfelden in Upper Bavaria, as the spokesman for the Rosenheim Federal Police Inspection, Rainer Scharf, reported.
There were no traffic jams on either the Austrian or German side.
"Even the truck traffic flows." According to Scharf, the officials found some violations of the registration and test obligation by mid-morning.
According to Scharf, the federal police are primarily fulfilling their border police mandate, including checking human smugglers.
The officers equipped with FFP2 masks and gloves have been checking compliance with the corona rules for days.
Temporary stationary controls have been set up on the important branch lines, said Scharf.
"It's not that we stop every car, but we look inside every vehicle."
However, things will probably look a little different from Sunday.
"It is very likely that we will check every vehicle to see whether there is a negative test result." Saxony, which borders the Czech Republic, is also affected by the border controls.
According to the Federal Employment Agency (BA), around 45,000 employees subject to social security contributions in Germany recently lived in the Czech Republic or Austria.
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fdi / dpa
