In Lower Austria, the federal military’s assistance deployment for disinfection measures at the border will begin on Monday due to the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in Slovakia and Hungary. 28 soldiers will manage the disinfection mats at the crossings in Hohenau (District Gänserndorf) and Berg (District Bruck an der Leitha). So far, all test results, including those in Burgenland, have been negative.

The disinfection mats at the open border crossings in Lower Austria to Slovakia have been managed by the road service up until now. On Monday afternoon, the Bundesheer (Federal Army) will take over this task, according to the Military Command of Lower Austria. The assistance deployment, which supports the health authorities in the districts of Gänserndorf and Bruck an der Leitha, was requested by the state last week.

According to the office of Provincial Councillor Susanne Rosenkranz (FPÖ), no positive test results have been reported in Lower Austria. The border checks have proceeded smoothly, the police said upon request.

Continued Criticism of Health Ministry Regulation

The monitoring program also continued in Burgenland at the start of the week. No positive cases have been reported, according to the crisis staff of the state in response to an APA inquiry. The Building Directorate is in the process of moistening all the disinfection mats at the border crossings. However, the mats at the highway crossings in Kittsee and Nickelsdorf are being handled by the Bundesheer soldiers, using materials provided by the Building Directorate.

Additionally, criticism from Vice Governor Anja Haider-Wallner (Greens) regarding the new regulation from the Red-led Ministry of Health, which came into effect on Monday, remains. The regulation states that the import ban now only applies to animals and animal products that directly come from the FMD-affected areas in Hungary and Slovakia. Haider-Wallner appealed to the public to avoid traveling to the affected areas whenever possible. Animals, meat and meat products, raw milk, and raw dairy products are potential carriers of the highly contagious disease and should not be transported across the border.