Starting this Saturday, Germany will ease its regulations on all of its borders, which were completely closed since mid-March.

Except for emergency travel, all of Germany’s borders were under strict control, and this weekend they will slowly reopen.

According to Horst Seehofer, the interior minister, they are still working on the final regulations, but the first steps would be reopening the borders with Austria, Switzerland, and France with all the regular checks on vehicles and passengers.

The border with Luxemburg will be free of any control, and the same thing will happen with Denmark’s border, after the negotiation with their authorities.

Earlier today, Austria opened five border crossing points with Bavaria (southern German state), following a telephone meeting between chancellor Angela Merkel and Sebastian Kurz (Austrian chancellor).

The main purpose of reopening the borders is economical, and it’s expected to improve the current travel situation, as well as the agriculture and forestry industries.

Business owners are cheering this governmental decision, although if a second wave strikes, the border regulations will tighten again.

“This is on condition that the virus’ progress continues to develop in a manageable way. If the situation worsens, we would have to react to that,” Seehofer said.

Travel to Germany from third world countries will remain on hold. Anyone from Germany planning on a distant vacation should reconsider the decision and visit the neighboring countries instead.