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Mainz / Saarbrücken (dpa) - There will be relief in the border area and in small border traffic from this Sunday to the eastern French department of Moselle: The federal government has decided that the region bordering Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland will no longer be a virus variant area, said Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) with on Thursday.

Moselle will be downgraded from Sunday (midnight) to the level of a high incidence area - like all of France.

The Moselle region, with around one million inhabitants, has been a virus variant area since March 2.

The reason was a massive spread of the South African variant of up to 60 percent in new infections.

"I am very pleased that the spread of the virus variants in the Moselle department has been successfully contained," said Dreyer.

The downgrade that has now taken place is "an important step".

With the downgrading, the ban on transport will be lifted, the quarantine obligation again corresponds to the regulations for a high-incidence area: i.e. reduction to ten days and exceptions for day commuters for stays of less than 24 hours.

Cross-border commuters and cross-border commuters were already exempt from this.

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With the upcoming downgrading of Moselle «we are making a little headway towards returning to normal in the border region.

Everyday life for commuters will be made easier by taking this step, "said the representative at the federal level and for Europe, State Secretary Heike Raab (SPD).

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-405033 / 2