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The government announces a new tightening. Schools should return as of December 7, “but under different conditions,” Education Minister Fassmann said.
On Saturday afternoon, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP), Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler, Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (both Greens) and Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) presented the rules for the new shutdown. In the early afternoon, Ministers Gernot Blümel (finance), Heinz Faßmann (education) and Christine Aschbacher (work / all ÖVP) went into detail.
From December 6
The second block should apply until December 6 inclusive. Starting Tuesday, it will close the business with the known exceptions since spring, such as grocery stores and drug stores, Kurz announced. Schools are converting to distance learning, both in schools and in kindergartens, however there is the possibility of supervision.
Also, exit restrictions now apply 24 hours. Only contact with individual close relatives or individual important caregivers or with life partners who do not live in the same household is allowed. All personal service providers must also close. This applies to hairdressers, beauticians, and masseurs, for example. According to Kurz, churches would voluntarily refrain from worship services during the closing phase.
A draft of the regulation had already been sent to the opposition and the federal states. More on this here: What’s in the regulation.
“My urgent request: not knowing anyone”
“The blockade is the only means by which we know that it works reliably,” said the Chancellor at the press conference on Saturday afternoon. The measures are “extremely drastic”, that is clear to him. But “every social contact is too much.”
“My rush request: don’t meet anyone,” Kurz said. “If you live alone, then define a person with whom to keep in touch.” Because only in this way can Christmas and the time before it be saved. After the closure is over, schools and retail stores should be the first to reopen.
Loss of revenue from trading 20 to 60 percent
The trade is offset by a 20 to 60 percent loss in sales, Kogler said. That’s less than in gastronomy, where 80 percent were last established. The Vice Chancellor and Minister of Sports called for exercise and outdoor sports, but if possible only.
“More powerful, more dynamic and harder”
“The second wave is more powerful, more dynamic and tougher than the spring wave,” Anschober said. The numbers in Austria are increasing “almost explosively”. They tried to react very fast. The health system is on edge. That is why you need “emergency braking, and that immediately”, because the stopping distance takes two weeks. He is convinced that he will succeed. “It is our only chance. Our last chance to avoid a collapse in the hospitals. “
You have three specific goals: First, to reduce new infections to stabilize the situation in hospitals. Second, the goal is to effectively reduce the effective reproduction factor below 0.9, that is, each infected person infects less than one other person. Third, they want to achieve more stable control of the pandemic by the time the vaccine arrives.
Sales compensation of 20 to 60 percent
Body hugging services (hairdressers, masseurs, etc.) will have, like the restaurant and hotel sector, 80 percent of sales as of November 2019 replaced by the closing period. There is a tiered solution for retail, this is due to different requirements.
The basis for negotiating is 40 percent sales compensation, with premiums and discounts of 20 to 60 percent. Areas with perishable and highly seasonal goods are supported to a greater extent than those sectors where goods are not subject to any or almost no depreciation and / or recovery effects, according to Blümel. As an example, he explains: Florists get 60 percent, furniture retailers get 20 percent.
Short duration work crown – can now also be reduced to zero percent
Corona’s short-lived work has been adapted, Aschbacher said. Now it could be reduced to zero percent during lockdown. the travel allowance is also paid at the central office.
School “in different conditions”
“Our goal was open schools,” Faßmann said. “But health is now a priority.” Schools are not drivers of infection, but they are not free from it either. Starting Tuesday, the compulsory schools will also move to distance education. Monday is a normal school day, a day of preparation and transition. There will be learning stations open to everyone. There would no longer be a distinction between parents in professions critical to the system and those in other professions. Students should not be overwhelmed with homework: “We have enough emotional pressure at school.”
Beginning December 7, a window day, schools should return to classes, “but under different conditions,” Fassmann said. In addition to compulsory school students, high school graduates must also have face-to-face lessons.
How many children does Faßmann expect? During the summer semester, three to five percent of the children were in school. You are now calculating with a two digit percentage in the smallest range. The mandatory kindergarten for five-year-olds will be eliminated for the closing phase, but that is the responsibility of the federal states. Kindergartens and nurseries are open to those who need them.
(APA / red)
