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Dresden (dpa) - Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has defended the border controls in force from Sunday when entering from the Czech Republic.

“We have no other choice,” he said on Saturday on the sidelines of an event to commemorate the destruction of Dresden in World War II.

The fight against the pandemic does not stop at a border.

So far, the Saxon line has been to treat regions on the other side of the border as if they were a district in Saxony or Germany.

In the Czech region of Eger, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days is 1,100, he said.

With such an incidence, very clear regulations such as curfews and the closure of shops would have been initiated in Saxony, according to Kretschmer.

“If things are different on the Czech side, then we have to protect ourselves differently.

So far, over the past few weeks, we've had a common understanding.

It now seems to be different in the Czech Republic, ”he emphasized.

One cannot allow schools and many shops to be closed on one side of the border, that there is a major restriction on life and that the “party” begins on the other.

Kretschmer warned of the British virus mutation: "We have an extreme threat."

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From Sunday midnight, strict rules for entering Germany from certain areas come into force.

Then, among others, only Germans and foreigners with a residence and residence permit are allowed to enter from the Czech Republic.

There are exceptions for medical and nursing staff, truck drivers and seasonal workers in agriculture.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210213-99-429348 / 2