The German government have said that they will begin to relax their border controls on Friday, as officials in the country continue with the easing of nationwide lockdown measures
Shops, secondary schools, playgrounds and churches across Germany have already been reopened, and gyms and other sports venues were permitted to resume operations in a number of regions of the country earlier this week.
This news comes after The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel announced that the government would allow for households to socially interact, as well as the reopening of shops and resuming sports events.
On Wednesday, German interior minister Horst Seehofer announced that the German government have made agreements with the authorities of France, Austria and Switzerland respectively, to reopen all border crossings between Germany and those countries from the 15th of May.
According to Mr Seehofer the aim of the government is to restore free travel between those three borders from the 15th of June, so long as infections of COVID-19 allow. Those travelling from safe parts of China may also be allowed to enter the country from this date, he said.
“The goal is that from mid-June we want to have free travel in Europe,”
The German Interior Ministry warned that border controls would be reimposed in the eventuality of new outbreaks.
Current government guidelines say that those returning to Germany have to spend two weeks in mandatory self-isolation in order to help to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Seehofer has also said that Germany’s border with Luxembourg can be completely opened and the Interior Minister said that he was also ready to begin reopening the nation’s borders with Denmark from the 15th of May however, a formal agreement with the country is yet to be reached.
Horst Seehofer has also said that it is far too early to ease border controls between Germany and Italy, and he has stated that allowing travel to and from the United States would also cause problems, due to both countries being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
These changes to the border security come at a time when Germany has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases since easing of their lockdown restrictions began.
Professor Tobias Welte of Hanover University is on the German Covid-19 task force, he said on the matter:
“One change in Germany which could be recognised: we now have some hotspots of infections, for example meat production, some kinds of industry, but if you look in broad over Germany the numbers are going down.”
On the easing of lockdown restrictions, The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel has said:
“We have to be careful that this thing doesn’t slip from our grasp,”
“We are getting into a new phase of the pandemic and it will now be necessary that amid all the easing we have certainty that people adhere to the basic rules, meaning keeping a distance, wearing face masks and showing consideration for one another.”
A study conducted in Germany shows how the country’s death-rate could mean that as many as 7.9million Brits have already had the coronavirus without knowing.
