[ad_1]
In a press conference broadcast on Austrian television, Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced new austerity measures to control the pandemic in Austria.
The reason is the rapidly growing number of new infections, approaching 6,000 a day, which Kurz and Health Minister Rudolf Anshober said would complicate the health care system as the number of patients in care units increases. intensive. In order to maintain the high standards of Austrian healthcare and for anyone who needs a bed in the intensive care unit to receive it, a new package of measures against the spread of the coronavirus must be introduced from November 3 to 30. Kurz emphasized.
The main points of the new package are the following:
From November 3 to 30 it is forbidden to leave the houses from 20 to 6 in the morning. Exceptions are allowed when going to work, helping a person in need, taking a walk around the house or playing sports. Home visits are prohibited after 8 pm, at other times it is allowed to gather people from a maximum of two homes.
All evening cultural, sporting and private events are prohibited. Hotels will be closed to tourists, only business travelers are allowed, restaurants have the right to deliver food to homes, but will remain closed. Violators will be sanctioned, both restaurant and bar owners and visitors who are in the restaurants.
The government will compensate all industries affected by the new measures and in the short term will provide them with 80 percent of revenues by November 2019 in order to preserve jobs. The government hopes that the European Commission will approve and grant additional aid to pay the affected companies.
Schools and kindergartens are still open, and secondary schools and universities are moving towards distance education. The number of infected people will be constantly monitored and, if necessary, the classes will be quarantined.
The entire commercial network remains open, as well as the service rooms, and strict precautions will be observed, including disinfection, distance and the use of masks.
Elders in nursing homes and institutions for the elderly and infirm will be screened weekly, visitors will conduct rapid on-site tests before visiting family members, and wear well-sealed masks.
All companies that can work from home will switch to this mode.
The new measures were discussed with the social partners, President Alexander Van der Belen, the provincial governors and the leaders of the opposition parties.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s call to the citizens of Austria is to comply with the restrictive measures in order to reduce the number of new infections and gradually relax the measures imposed in December.
