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The government and provincial governors will discuss new measures on Friday. Starting Thursday, the Christmas Ordinance will bring tightening, also for the private sector.
Christmas, it has been known for a long time, will be quieter this year than usual, and that can also apply to the period after. In a video conference between the government and state governors on Friday, another lockdown will be discussed, starting after the holidays. Retail trade could be affected again. The lifts that were supposed to open on Christmas Eve may also remain closed.
For now, the main committee of the National Council decided on Wednesday, with the votes of the ÖVP, Greens and SPÖ, the Christmas ordinance of the Ministry of Health. It will also bring some adjustment starting Thursday (December 17).
mask
In the future, the mask requirement will also apply in extended private areas (barn, garage, garden) when people from different households gather. In the highly personal area of life, however, there is no control. December 24 and 25 are exempt from the new mask requirement.
This obligation should also apply in the future in highly frequented outdoor locations such as shopping streets. The federal states have to take care of that. More masks should also be worn in the workplace, where there are several people in a room and there are no partitions. By the way, as of December 18, nursing staff will also be required to wear FFP2 masks.
Nursing homes
When it comes to infections in care facilities and hospitals, it often comes to a tragic end: Until now, nursing home and care residents of 2013 have died with Covid-19. There are currently just under 3,500 infected people in those homes. Therefore, the obligation to carry out tests is extended. In the future, staff will be tested twice a week instead of once. Residents must be offered up to two tests per week if they leave the premises. This will pose a logistical problem for countries, but also for carriers. Tests must be purchased in bulk and must be performed by medically trained personnel.
school
Rumors that schools will be closed before the start of the Christmas holidays do not want to silence. The Ministry of Education denies it. The holidays will begin as planned on December 24. This time, however, it will take longer. Because regular lessons will only start again on January 11th.
There will be tutoring this year over the Christmas break. In recent months, as Education Minister Heinz Faßmann put it, learning gaps have emerged: “You don’t have to talk about it.” That is why they want to tutor 7000 students. You can register at www.weiterlernen.at as of December 28. Teachers, students, and high school students are used as learning aids (“friends”). This is free for families, “friends” receive a reward through a coupon system, “not princely, but nonetheless,” said the minister.
Commerce
And what’s next in retail? SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner on Wednesday renewed her call for a “Christmas break” until January 6, if new infections do not drop below 1,000 by the end of the week. And it doesn’t look like that. “It’s only six days, but that would cause a significant slowdown,” says Rendi-Wagner. Why 1000? Because contact tracing would be possible again. The federal states would have no more capabilities. The government has reportedly not yet decided whether the deal will be closed again. That depends on the numbers, they said.
(“Die Presse”, print edition, December 17, 2020)
