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Vienna (dpa) - Austria wants to massively tighten border controls to Germany and other neighboring countries from Monday out of concern about the spread of the coronavirus.
The interior ministry announced on Sunday that all unnecessary trips in the pandemic should be prevented.
"The border controls serve as a breakwater for chains of infection, which are becoming more and more dangerous due to new virus mutations," said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer.
Nehammer had a positive conversation on the subject with his German counterpart Horst Seehofer (CSU).
The network of controls at the borders should now be significantly denser.
Austria has already controlled the borders with Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The random checks carried out so far at the other borders are now to be significantly intensified.
At the beginning of last week, stricter rules for people entering Austria were announced.
In the future, every traveler must present a negative corona test when crossing the border.
There are no longer any exceptions.
A ten-day quarantine should also be observed.
The free time after five days has been abolished.
Like other travelers, commuters now have to register online and show a negative corona test once a week.
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In order to prevent possible border crossings by tourists, the authorities also announced increased controls in ski areas.
"In times of the pandemic, it is important to reduce travel movements to the absolute minimum," said Nehammer.
According to the Interior Ministry, three million people have been screened and 200,000 have been quarantined since border controls began in December.
Austria relaxes the corona lockdown on Monday after six weeks.
Retail, hairdressers and schools can reopen under strict hygiene conditions.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210207-99-338977 / 2