Slovakia puts Czech Republic on high-risk Covid-19 list

Slovakia will put its neighbour and important trade partner the Czech Republic on its "red list" of high-risk countries due to a surge in the number of coronavirus cases there, a Slovak official said on Monday.

The decision would take effect on Friday and mean that travellers across the busy common border would need a negative Covid-19 test or to go into five-day quarantine followed by a test, Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Klus said on Facebook.

Exceptions would be made for cross-border commuters living up to 30 km (18 miles) from the nearest crossing and some other groups, he said.

The Czech Republic reported a surge in daily new Covid-19 cases to as many as 1,541 on Saturday, multiples of the numbers it was recording in the spring and among the highest per capita numbers in Europe in recent weeks.

Some other countries, including Switzerland, Denmark and Germany, have placed entry restrictions on Czech travellers or those coming from its capital Prague.