BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2020) German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Sunday he had ordered the return of controls on the border with five Schengen zone countries.
"I decided today to temporarily reinstate controls on inner borders with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Denmark," he said at a news conference.
The controls will return at 8 a.m. (7:00 GMT) on Monday. He stressed the measure was aimed at "disrupting the chain of infections" with the rapidly spreading coronavirus in Europe.
Commuting and goods traffic will continue, the minister said, but those who do not have a "compelling" reason for traveling will be barred from crossing the border. German nationals and residents will be allowed to return.
The Robert Koch Institute for disease control reported Sunday that Germany had 4,838 confirmed COVID-19 patients.� Twelve people have died in the country since the outbreak began in China in late December.
