German police stopping cars at Dutch border for health checks

Due to the coronavirus, the German police are stopping more cars along the Dutch-German border to check occupants for health complaints. “We have significantly increased our presence. The controls are carried out on a random basis,” a police spokesperson said to German media. “We are stopping the cars and asking the occupants about symptoms of illness, and from where they arriving.”

The health authorities are alerted if someone may be infected with Covid-19. “We are not doctors or paramedics, we are police officers. As in our neighboring countries, we as the police can only support medically trained personnel by rejecting or detaining people at the border, but others have to make decisions about medical matters,” said Ernst Walter of a labor union representing German police officers.

The extra checks started on Thursday and were ordered by Horst Seehofer, the Interior Minister, a source told the Rheinische Post. The operation is run by the Federal Police in Kleve.

According to Rheinische Post, the German police are currently suspending their holidays, so that extra manpower si available for the extra checks.

The officers performing the checks were not equipped with protective equipment and wear their regular uniform, a police spokesperson said to ANP. There are also more roadside inspections in Germany itself, especially along the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland.