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Saturday 26 December 2020
Free trials from mid-January
The third confinement in Austria begins
Three weeks after the end of the confinement, Austria moved on to the next. All stores, except those for daily use, are closed until mid-January. The country offers massive tests in the middle of the month. Those who do not participate must stay at home for another week.
The third blockade starts today, Saturday, in Austria. Many stores have to close for three weeks. Only grocery stores, pharmacies, and drug stores are excluded. Cultural institutions, restaurants and museums are also closed. Additionally, contact and departure restrictions apply until at least mid-January. Schools start the new year with distance education. The opening of the ski areas as of December 24 is at the discretion of the state authorities. With the measure, the country wants to further slow down the spread of the corona virus.
Mass testing is scheduled for January 15-17. In case of a negative result, the block can be released from January 18; otherwise, it will apply until January 24, he said. Teachers, clerks, and drivers of public transportation will be retested for the virus every week beginning January 18. In the last mass test in December, significantly fewer people participated than expected.
More recently, public life was closed from mid-November to early December. Since then, the number of new infections has dropped significantly. In the last seven days, around 160 cases were counted for every 100,000 inhabitants. Unlike the previous months, the so-called seven-day incidence is now below the current values in Germany.
The government had announced that it would support the affected companies with another one billion euros. Finance Minister Gernot Blümel said the current aid program will run until the end of the year. That will translate into around 300 million euros in direct aid. In total, costs of around one billion euros are expected.
