Austria hopes to reopen borders to 'safe countries'

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Thursday repeated his hope Austria could soon reopen its borders to "safe countries" which appear to have the new coronavirus under control.

Tourists from nations like Germany and the Czech Republic should to be able to spend their summer vacation in the Alpine country, he said.

Speaking after participating in an international video conference on combating the new coronavirus, the chancellor stressed that visitors would be safe.

Austria would not grant access to visitors from countries which do not have the virus under control "and therefore pose a potential danger", Kurz explained.

Thousands of tourists from Germany visit Austria each year over the summer months and tourism accounted for 15.3% of national GDP in 2018.