Forget shopping in Germany – Bavaria off limits to those coming from Czech Republic

Czech residents will no longer be able to cross the border to go shopping starting Wednesday, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted on Monday.

For many weeks this fall, Czechs were able to cross the border into Germany's Bavaria with a negative COVID-19 test.

Even when that was abolished in November and Czechs had to quarantine, there has always been an exception for Czech residents in transit, international transport, family matters and small border traffic like shopping trips.

Starting Wednesday, Bavaria plans to declare a State of Emergency and tighten anti-coronavirus measures until Jan. 9 as the pandemic worsens in the region. Many hospitals in the region remain overcrowded and current restrictions seem not to help, Prime Minister of the German federal state Markus Söder said this week.

This means that Czech residents can no longer cross the border without quarantining, and officials have taken away the exemption for cross-border shopping. A quarantine is required for 10 days when entering the country; after five days, if you test negative for COVID-19, you can leave quarantine.

Even amid strict restrictions in the region in recent weeks, where German residents don't have the freedom to go out except for essential trips, Czechs have been heading to Bavaria to shop.

The Federal Police Directorate in Pirna, Saxony have said that they carry out frequent random checks at the border, but there are no imposed fines if a violation or breach of quarantine is discovered.

Commuters and family members can still cross the border into Germany, officials said.