Austria to Add Prague to Red List of Risk Areas

Austria will probably include Prague on the list of regions with high-risk of COVID-19 infection, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (ČSSD) said on Twitter today.

The borders will not close, but the country will require people traveling from Prague to get tested. Petříček is negotiating with the head of Austrian diplomacy, Alexander Schallenberg, to try to agree on an exemption for people who have already paid for their holiday trips to the neighbour state.

‼️?? Rakousko by mělo od příštího týdne zařadit Prahu mezi rizikové oblasti. Při příjezdu by tak byl třeba negativní test. O konečné podobě omezení jednám s ministrem Schallenbergem. Rád bych prosadil, aby se opatření nedotklo již zaplacených zájezdů.

— Tomáš Petříček (@TPetricek) September 24, 2020

Germany warned against travel to most of the Czech Republic, with the exception of the Ústí nad Labem and Moravian-Silesian regions.

Czech diplomacy is also trying to resolve the issue of so-called “small cross-border” relations with Germany. “We asked the German side to allow Czechs to go shopping on the other side of the border or visiting restaurants. But we didn’t reach an agreement yet,” Petříček told Radiožurnál.

Belgium, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Cyprus have already included the whole Czech Republic on the list of countries with high-risk of COVID-19 infection.

From Monday, September 28, Greece will also require a negative test upon arrival from the Czech Republic.

Latest data

New cases reached 2,309 on Wednesday, the third-highest figure on record. Among a total of 55,464 cases reported since March, 26,861 people have recovered and there were 555 deaths reported in connection with the illness.

Hospitalisations rose to 628. The number of active cases stands at 28,048.