Twenty-four hours after having had to give up, on its own territory, any new restrictive measure intended to contain the epidemic, the German federal government is now trying to protect its borders.
On the recommendation of the Robert Koch Institute for Public Health Surveillance, Berlin is preparing, according to Reuters and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, to declare the entire French territory a
"risk zone"
, requiring all citizens from France , to submit to quarantine.
This will last for ten days and may be lifted upon presentation of a negative test.
At the same time, the German Foreign Ministry has just classified Belgium in the same category and prohibited its fellow citizens - except for compelling reasons - from visiting this neighboring country.
Brussels reports an incidence rate of 411 infections per 100,000 inhabitants during the last fourteen days.
In addition, in a note published Thursday, the ministry advises against travel to Spain.
On the previous days, however, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) had taken Mallorca out of risk areas leading to an influx of tourists to the Balearics.
Because of this decision, the RKI, which also advocates strict containment measures in Germany, had been widely criticized.
More generally, all travelers arriving on German territory by air will have to undergo a test at the airport.
These announcements immediately sparked a stir on the border between the Moselle and the Land of Saarland, where border controls had already been reinstated a month ago on the initiative of the German Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer.
The Bavarian conservative had adopted similar measures with Poland, the Czech Republic and Tyrol in Austria.
Deutsche Welle reported Thursday evening of a
"chaotic"
situation
on the German-Polish border.
For its part, the office of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly sent a letter to the two respective ministers of European affairs, Clément Beaune and Michael Roth, asking them to adopt a
“coordinated approach”.
The federal government's decision will have the effect of
"tightening the restrictive rules in the cross-border living area"
, deplore the presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly, Christophe Arend and Andreas Jung.
For his part, the French Minister Clément Beaune
"is negotiating the easing of the terms to avoid the closure of the border"
, explained to AFP, a source of his entourage.
This turn of the screw contrasts with the announcement, made the same day by the Minister President of Saarland, Tobias Hanz, of a general deconfinement after the Easter weekend.
Provided that the incidence rate remains below 100 in the region, and presentation of negative tests, restaurants, sports halls and cultural institutions will reopen in the Saar territory.
In Saarbrücken, not many people believe that this promise can be honored.
The day before, in Berlin, Angela Merkel had given up closing churches and businesses for the Easter weekend.
And even apologized to the people.
Since then, the greatest vagueness reigns in German health policy.
The federal government seems to be trying to control the epidemic via its borders, leaving only the regions to decide on containment measures.
"The light is at the end of the tunnel and we will defeat this virus,"
said Angela Merkel, hours after the same Robert Koch Institute reported 22,000 new infections in twenty-four hours, the highest figure ever reached in recent weeks.