The Austrian federal government is issuing a domestic travel warning for the first time: the Federal Chancellery announced on Monday that it would warn against traveling to the state of Tyrol. The background is that one wants to avoid the spread of the South African mutation of the coronavirus.

“The new virus mutations present us with great challenges, so far-reaching measures are now required. Our common goal is to ensure the health of the population and to prevent the virus from spreading further. We must all contribute to this now. We are constantly checking the situation - additional measures are possible at any time, ”explains Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober.

Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, it has been a first for a travel warning, which is actually only issued for foreign countries, is now also issued for a single federal state. The Federal Chancellery announced the following:

"1. The federal government warns against unnecessary trips to Tyrol and requests that unnecessary trips to Tyrol be avoided.

2. The federal government calls on everyone who has been in Tyrol in the past two weeks to be tested.

3. Everyone who is traveling from Tyrol to another federal state is urgently requested to take a Covid-19 test immediately before the trip ”.

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said: “Therefore everything must be done to prevent these mutations from spreading further and further. In addition to the measures that were taken in Tyrol to protect Tyroleans, the federal government warns against traveling to Tyrol in order to prevent the spread of the South Africa variant and calls on all citizens to travel to Tyrol to the extent absolutely necessary reduce".