Coronavirus: Germany to ease border controls despite surge in new cases

Plans in place to completely reopen country’s borders with France, Switzerland and Austria from 15 June, says Interior Ministry

Germany will start relaxing border controls from Friday, according to the government, as officials press ahead with the easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions.

This comes despite a recent surge in new coronavirus cases, with the country’s R value – the virus reproduction rate – currently above the critical threshold of 1.

German interior minister Horst Seehofer announced on Wednesday that the government has agreed with authorities in France, Austria and Switzerland to reopen all border crossings from 15 May.

The aim is to restore free travel across those three borders from 15 June, Mr Seehofer added, so long as coronavirus infections allow. People from safe parts of China may also be permitted to enter the country from this date, he said.

The Interior Ministry warned that controls would be reimposed in the eventuality of new outbreaks.

Checks between Germany and Luxembourg are set to be dropped on Friday, but border restrictions with Italy, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, will remain in place for the time being.

Mr Seehofer said Germany is prepared to relax controls on the Danish border, but Denmark is in the process of consulting with its other neighbours.

Germany imposed checks on its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Denmark on 16 March and people “without a valid reason to travel” have not been allowed to cross since.

The Interior Ministry has meanwhile called upon the country’s 16 states to lift quarantine requirements for EU visitors, but not those from outside the European bloc.

Currently, government guidelines dictate that people returning to Germany must spend two weeks in mandatory quarantine as part of efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Having enjoyed relative success in combating the coronavirus pandemic, Germany began lifting restrictions towards the end of April.

Shops, playgrounds, churches and secondary schools across the country have already reopened, while gyms and sports venues were earlier this week given the green light in a number of regions.

Brandenburg and Baden-Wurttemberg, among other states, are relaxing bans on public gatherings. In Bavaria, zoos, museums and libraries can now reopen with strict social distancing in place.

The recent easing of coronavirus measures appears to have led to an increase in the country’s R rate.

For the last three days, the value has been above 1, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s public health body.

This means that, statistically, one infected person will pass the virus to more than one other individual.

However, the RKI has said that the current R rate was not a cause for significant concern, insisting that “individual days are not a problem”.

“If the second decimal digit were above 1 that would not yet be critical,” said RKI vice president Lars Schaade. “But the higher it goes above 1, like 1.2 or 1.3 and over a longer period of time, it would create a situation where we would pay very close attention and think about measures how to countersteer that.”