Austria issues highest travel warning for Western Balkans

The Austrian foreign ministry on Wednesday issued the highest warning against traveling to the Western Balkan countries as coronavirus infections there have risen sharply.

The level-6 travel warning, which means travelers from those countries have to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine or present a negative coronavirus test result,

apply to countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia,

according to a tweet from the foreign ministry.

There will be increased controls over the borders, said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg at a press conference here.

“We were able to lift the travel restrictions for 32 European countries,” he said, but the normality of freedom to travel is still “miles away.”

Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said that new coronavirus infection figures in the Western Balkans are “problematic,” stressing the need for concrete measures to contain the outbreak.