France announces stricter coronavirus checks at German border

The French government recently announced stricter coronavirus border checks between Germany and the country’s eastern Moselle region in an effort to further curb coronavirus outbreaks.

French health minister Olivier Véran and Clément Beaune, the junior minister in charge of European affairs, released a statement outlining the new changes on Thursday.

Travelers seeking to cross the border will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous 72 hours unless they are crossing the border for professional work, according to the release. 

Under the new restrictions, telework will also be encouraged and increased for people who usually need to cross the border for work. The new restrictions will be implemented on Monday. 

“The government continues to monitor the health situation in the region with the greatest attention,” Véran and Beaune wrote in the statement.

France has also joined with Germany to increase border patrols.

The country has moved quickly to increase its coronavirus testing and screening capabilities and has reportedly tested more than 60,000 within the last week, the release states.

France has seen more than 85,500 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic and more than 3.6 million cases have been reported, according to The New York Times.