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Since Austria can celebrate Christmas under even lighter rules, residents of the country won’t be able to breathe after the holidays. After consulting with epidemiology experts, the government decided on Friday afternoon that
it enforces all-day tracking restrictions and significantly tightens existing disease control measures to slow the spread of the virus.
Restaurants, hotels and non-food establishments will be closed until January 18 (grocery stores and pharmacies remain an exception), as well as proximity services, such as a hairdresser.
Contrary to previous plans, schools will resume distance education from January 7 and then return to normal education from January 18.
This is the only way to reopen tourism, culture and gastronomy during a pandemic and, at the same time, prevent the number of infected people from increasing.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) said at a press conference Friday night, Vienna.at reported. He stressed that Christmas is going “according to plan”, that is, without even stricter restrictions. Kurz added that the austerity measures will take effect from Christmas Day with the aim of keeping the number of daily deaths stable below 100.
For relief not before January 16–Participants in 17 additional national tests can wait, but those who do not voluntarily participate in this can expect an additional one-week shutdown.
With a negative test result, people can go back to using commercial and gastronomic services the next day. Those who are not tested should wear an FFP2 mask both at work and shopping.
The government leaves it up to provincial leaders to decide whether to allow skiing or leisure activities.
There will be no blanket ban. So far, the opening of the ski areas is scheduled for December 24. At the same time, the FFP2 protection level mask will be mandatory on the lifts.
In the neighboring country, restrictions were last relaxed on December 7, although experts said the number of confirmed infections per day was high. Schools were opened, but restaurants and hotels remained closed. That was not enough to reduce the number of people infected, “said Sebastian Kurz, adding that recently 2,600 new people had been registered a day and almost 120 deaths.
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