Slovakia to limit some truck transit due to border jams

Slovakia is closing border crossings with Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria for the transit of trucks over 7.5 tons delivering non-essential goods, the police said on Friday. European Union countries have clamped down on borders to contain the spread of coronavirus, shutting down much of the bloc and leading to massive lines of trucks at border crossings seeking to get deliveries through.

Slovak police said in a statement they would no longer allow transit of large trucks except those carrying livestock or perishable goods, or trucks with delivery points in Slovakia. "We took this measure with immediate effect to prevent accidents near the border crossings where long jams are formed because of lengthy handling by Hungarian authorities," police spokeswoman Denisa Bardyova said.

Slovakia banned international passenger travel on March 12 but the border remained open for freight. The EU member country has reported 269 cases of the coronavirus as of Thursday.

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