Austria to Close Two Border Crossings with Slovakia Due to Foot-and-mouth

Vienna, April 3 (TASR) – Due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Slovakia, Austria will temporarily close two border crossings with Slovakia – Angern-March/Zahorska Ves and Schloss Hof/Devinska Nova Ves – as of Saturday, April 5, TASR has learnt thanks to information from the Austrian Press Agency (APA). The Austrian Interior Ministry announced this on Thursday, stating that the border closures are being implemented in coordination with the regional authorities in Lower Austria and Burgenland, as well as in cooperation with agricultural chambers and the Austrian Agriculture Ministry. Since the middle of last week, 53 soldiers from the Austrian Army's disaster relief unit (AFDRU) have been operating in Slovakia. They are assisting Slovak authorities with the disinfection of lorries at the Slovak-Hungarian border crossing at Rusovce-Rajka. Since the end of last week, the Austrian police have been assisting Austrian veterinary officials with border checks at border crossings with Slovakia and Hungary. The measures include stopping and inspecting vehicles, and checking documents. Animal samples are being taken weekly in four villages in the Neusiedl am See district due to an outbreak in the nearby Hungarian village of Level. Hunting is also banned. All samples in Austria have tested negative so far. lin/df