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WITHTo curb the skyrocketing number of coronaviruses, Austria is massively restricting public life. “From Tuesday, November 3 at midnight until the end of November, there will be a second lockdown in Austria,” Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) said in Vienna on Saturday. Exit restrictions apply nationwide between 8 pm and 6 am During this time, you are only allowed to leave the apartment for specific reasons.
Cultural and leisure facilities must be closed, as well as the hotel and hospitality industry; only take out and deliveries are allowed. With the exception of top-level sport, the events are no longer held, but without an audience. Recreational sports are only allowed outdoors without physical contact. Retailers and service providers, such as hairdressers, remain open. Children up to grade 10 should “for now” continue in kindergarten and, with the requirement of a mask from age 6, in school, high school, and students learn from home.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) said that all residents of nursing homes and nursing homes should be tested for the virus once a week. That is why the government ordered 3 million anti-gene tests this week.
“This step is necessary to avoid overloading intensive care medicine,” Kurz said. “Our goal is to gradually reopen in December and get back to a reasonably normal life.” On Sunday afternoon, Parliament’s main committee has yet to approve the measures. The ordinance is valid until November 30, exit restrictions must be approved by parliament every ten days.
The number of infections has risen steeply for weeks to reach new highs almost every day. The government fears that hospitals will soon be overloaded. On Saturday, Austria tallied 5,349 new cases in 24 hours for its nearly nine million residents, after a record 5,627 new infections in one day were reported on Friday. In the last seven days there were an average of 301.1 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, in the federal states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol even significantly more than 400.
“Most infections occur with people who know each other, who love each other,” Kurz emphasized. Therefore, he called the night-out restriction “a de facto ban on visitors.” It is allowed to leave the private living space between 8 pm and 6 am to relax in the open air, for basic needs, for family care or support, for work or in case of danger. Public transportation can only be used for these purposes during this time. The catering take-out operation is prohibited after 20.00.
The regulation also contains contact restrictions, according to which only people from two households can meet at home. However, the regulation could be legally challenged as private space in Austria is strictly protected by the constitution. “The police will not start searching private homes,” emphasized Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP). This refers, for example, to garage parties that have been linked to outbreak infections in Austria.
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Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) promised that compensation should be paid quickly. The affected companies should receive up to 80 percent of their sales for the comparison period -an average month of the previous year-, a maximum of 800,000 euros. Blümel estimated the total cost at around € 1 billion.
According to the Austrian government, the first visible impact of the measures on the infection process is only expected in seven to 14 days. The real breakthrough won’t happen until a vaccine is available, Kurz said. “I remain optimistic and I think we can get back to normal by next summer at the latest.”
