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Austria is slowly increasing public life, some crown measures are being relaxed. However, ski tourists arriving from risk areas like Germany are slowed by quarantine regulations.
By Clemens Verenkotte, ARD-Studio Vienna
Hotels and restaurants in Austria will be closed for Christmas and New Years until January 7. At the same time, a “consistent border regime” will be introduced starting next Monday, according to which all returnees from risk areas must be quarantined for ten days. A corona test can only be performed after five days to end the quarantine earlier.
Numbers at a high level
This was announced by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz when he presented the first relaxation after the closing. The previous measures had already shown an effect “definitely”, the so-called seven-day incidence had been reduced from more than 600 at the beginning of November to 250. This value would be reached around December 6.
But Kurz also said: “The pandemic is not over. The virus is still among us and the contagion rates are still at an extremely high level.”
Open schools, commerce and museums
According to the Health Ministry, nearly 4,000 people have recently been infected in the last 24 hours. Currently, 16 percent of all corona tests are positive. Kurz announced that schools, with the exception of the upper level, commerce, service providers and museums would be reopened starting next week. There will be admission controls and restricted access depending on the size of the sales area. Kurz spoke of painful cuts that were not “popular”.
However, Kurz stated: “If we were to open everything at the same time, then I can give you the guarantee that we would immediately have an explosive increase in the number of infections” and the next closure would probably be scheduled for January.
Skiing possible again
Additionally, the current night-out restrictions were in effect from 8 pm to 6 am Kurz again campaigned for popular support.
With a view to the ski lifts, which are governed by the Transport Law, the Chancellor announced that as of December 24, individual outdoor sports such as skiing will be possible again, “so that the Austrian population can also enjoy these holidays. ” There is also the possibility of doing sports here ”.
“Four times more dead than the Germans”
Austria’s Social Democrats briefly accused the government of failing to manage the crisis. Austria is “world champion in the negative”, which is why the vice president of the SPÖ parliamentary group, Jörg Leichtfried, referred to the high number of new infections and the “horrible death rates”. The government operates a “show policy.” “We have four times more deaths than the Germans,” said the SPÖ politician.
