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This afternoon, the Austrian government may decide to shut down the country completely again just two to three weeks after the restrictions are eased. There is also a version that says there can be a hiatus of up to a month.
At the beginning of last week, the Austrian government eased the strict restrictions it had imposed for three weeks, including the closure of educational institutions to curb the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic.
However, in the neighboring country called Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Hungary virus laboratory, much softer closures than in the spring did not produce the required results, and therefore, according to yesterday’s proposal from the weekly expert committee, soon New restrictions will be introduced, according to the Austrian press.
It was also a somewhat expected move on the part of Austria, which followed Germany in many ways as its neighbor shut down completely on Wednesday. Final details of the action, dubbed Lockdown 3.0 in the press, could emerge this afternoon after Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz spoke with federal provincial leaders.
The press issued several versions of the most recent restrictions, citing drafts that were circulating in government and professional circles. Now, the version that seems most likely is to introduce provisions to reopen stores and restaurants from December 26, which would last at least until the end of winter break for schools.
The winter break was extended a few days ago to four days until January 10, with the additional days the government intended to conduct mass testing of students and teachers returning to educational institutions for Covid-19. However, the Austrian newspaper Kurier has already reported that school holidays and the trade ban could be extended until January 18.
Yesterday, there was even a version in the press that the restrictions would not be introduced from December 26, but from next Monday, December 21. The lifts would be open on the 24th according to previous plans, but this is very likely not to happen, and the ski slopes would not open until mid-January at the earliest.
In a morning press conference, Health Minister Rudolph Anschober said he did not want to comment on the measures that could emerge at this time, they plan to announce them at the evening press conference. He noted that there is still a high level of congestion in the country’s intensive care units, and this must be significantly reduced.
With the previous shutdown, we achieved a slow decline in the number of patients seen in the intensive care unit after a peak of 705 people, with approximately 500 people currently receiving such care as a result of Covid-19. At the same time, the seven-day average of daily deaths fell from 110 in early December to less than 90 at the end of last week, but from there it began to rise again.
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