Gov't: Checks Temporarily Reintroduced on Slovak Border with Hungary and Austria

Bratislava, April 7 (TASR) - Checks on Slovakia's border with Hungary and Austria will be temporarily reintroduced as of Tuesday (April 8) and should be in place until midnight on May 7 after the government approved an Interior Ministry proposal to this effect at its extraordinary session on Monday. The reason for this is the occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease in several locations in Hungary, with the subsequent transmission and spread of this disease into Slovakia. The Interior Ministry claims that reintroducing checks on the border with Hungary and Austria is necessary, for example, in order to limit crossings at selected locations, especially at small border crossings. "Although the presence of foot-and-mouth disease hasn't yet been confirmed on Austrian territory, it was also necessary to temporarily reintroduce checks at the border with Austria given the geographic areas of outbreak of this disease," stated the ministry. At the same time, the ministry can determine locations where vehicles will not be allowed to cross borders while the measure is in place. These locations will be selected based on decisions taken by the central crisis management team or Slovakia's chief veterinary officer, with the main purpose being to concentrate disinfection and decontamination measures at specific locations. The temporary measure won't have any impact on crossing the Slovak border via a so-called green border, i.e. away from official border crossings; for example, by tourists or cyclists, added the ministry. ko/df