Cross border workers are facing a major inconvenience on their morning commutes; German/Czech border crossings are requiring mandatory tests to pass through, creating lineups of cars for more than 3 kilometers.
On Sunday, Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Söder told Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš that he considered the Czech Republic a “high risk” area that called for more restrictions on the border. Czech authorities have not yet commented on the new measures.
The Bavarian region in particular requires a new COVID-19 test with a negative result every 48 hours, which means for daily commuters, several tests per week for Czechs crossing into Germany (But not for Germans crossing into the Czech Republic). This is obviously highly unpopular.
Lenka Sobotková, who works in a metal factory on the Bavarian side of the border told lidovky:
“We’re just going to go to work and taking a test… Why do we have to do 3 or 4 tests but the Germans don’t have to?”
The Saxony region is taking a slightly less strict stance on border-crossing measures, only requiring 2 tests per week. Šárka Poláčková, police spokeswoman in Ústí nad Labem, claimed that these measures hadn’t affected the commuting time.
The Saxony headquarters of the German Federal Police also claimed the same. “The new measures haven’t yet led to any longer congestion or waiting time,” they said.
Featured image by Nillerdk via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0
