The ordinance of the Ministry of Health that came into force on Saturday led to total chaos on Carinthia’s borders with Slovenia. There were more than ten hours of waiting time at the Karawanken tunnel, while entering via the Loiblpass it was seven hours. Finally, Carinthia’s governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) intervened and suspended the regulation. The situation calmed down by Sunday evening.
Kaiser justified his decision with the “human well-being”, which must be the focus. He told the APA that he had phoned the Ministry of Health and pointed out that the rigorous implementation of the regulation led to unreasonable conditions, and that the hygiene situation alone was unsustainable. He clearly criticized the ministry’s approach: “It cannot be that the risk from controls is greater than from the virus.” He thinks that decision wasn’t a good one, especially on a weekend like this. He defended the approach of the district authorities. Previously, one was confronted with accusations that too little was controlled.
The phone at the Carinthian police no longer stood still. Desperate vacationers asked what was going on, they had no information. The Red Cross was on a large-scale operation all night to provide the people with drinks, a district alarm had to be given.
The reason for the record-breaking border waiting times was the new regulation of the Austrian federal government. Accordingly, those passing through must sign a declaration that they will cross Austria without stopping and leave the country again. Travelers, on the other hand, have to fill out a long form with lots of personal data. On Saturday and on the night of Sunday mainly German and Dutch holidaymakers were on their way home. They were completely surprised by the new regulations, especially since the regulation only went to the district authorities on Saturday morning.
The Ministry of Health tried to shift responsibility to the local health authorities. They are entitled to check upon entry whether the requirements of the regulation for entry are being complied with. This means that the authorities on site can also carry out spot checks. “It is important to proceed proportionally with the controls, whereby in particular the traffic situation, the avoidance of traffic jams and the supply of the inbound and through-travelers are to be considered”, it said from the department.
The Slovenian authorities said on Sunday that they were unaware of the measures. “The Slovenian police were not informed about the changed working methods of the Austrian border authorities,” said the spokesman for the Kranj police department. The traffic jams are common during this period, this year corona-related measures are also contributing to longer waiting times. “We were prepared for traffic jams under such circumstances, but by no means for the Austrian authorities to work so slowly and restrictively,” it said.
According to information available to the Slovenian police, the Austrian side should ensure better cooperation between all the competent authorities at the border from Sunday, in order to ensure faster processing of travelers. “With such a system, as it was used by the Austrian side yesterday and during the night, the situation is not humane with increasing traffic,” said the police.
The coordination committee, in which all authorities involved are represented, meets in Klagenfurt on Monday. At this meeting, the further procedure should be discussed. The state of Carinthia said on Sunday: “According to the federal government, the random checks correspond to the currently applicable ordinance on entry into Austria, but the federal government promised a possible change to the ordinance.”
The border controls resulted in several quarantine impositions on Sunday: By 4 p.m., 1,264 controls and 842 health checks were carried out at the Lavamünd border crossing and ten home quarantines were imposed. There were 1,173 health checks in Grablach and at Seebergsattel, and no home quarantine was imposed. At the Karawanken tunnel there were 555 stops, 1,212 health checks and 36 home quarantines. At the Loiblpass, 1,930 people were checked by 5:45 p.m., 27 of them had to be quarantined at home.
Those: APA
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