In both countries there is a good trend to reduce the number of coronavirus infections, said Sebastian Kurz.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz expects that the control at the border with Switzerland imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus may be completely abolished by June. He said this in an interview with the Swiss television and radio company SRF on Tuesday.
“We are in close contact with the Swiss government. Our goal is to agree on a significant easing of [restrictive measures] in the coming days and to completely abolish border controls by June”, – Kurz said. He added that both countries are on good track to reduce coronavirus infections.
The Chancellor said Austria also hopes to remove controls at the border with Germany soon. “Negotiations with Germany are going very well. A breakthrough can also be expected here,” Kurz said.
Austrian authorities introduced sanitary and border control at the borders to combat the spread of coronavirus in March. May 6, control was extended until the end of the month.
April 14, Austria was the first in the EU to gradually lift the restrictions. On 1 May, the authorities lifted the self-imposed isolator regime and opened all shops and service businesses. To comply with sanitary measures, the population was required to wear safety masks in shops, transport, public buildings and to keep one meter away from others in public places. Restaurants, schools, hotels and museums are to be gradually reopened from mid-May. The weakening of the measures was made possible by reducing the daily increase in the number of infected people to 1%, compared with 40% in March.