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The government has given the country a “hard” blockade. The fear of a collapse of the health system is great. But Austria is also facing crucial weeks economically.
Appeals from Austrian retail and industry to the government were ineffective. In recent days, its representatives had almost begged the country not to expect a second “hard” blockade. The economy could hardly bear such a thing.
But the government had no choice but to paralyze economic life more or less from next Tuesday and close schools by December 6. Now it’s about saving lives, Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said when he announced the latest drastic measures.
Austria is currently being affected by the coronavirus pandemic to a greater extent than almost any other European country. In the last seven days, the number of new infections reported was more than 7,000 on average, and that with a population of 8.9 million people. There is currently a huge risk that hospitals will no longer be able to cope with the flood of patients or that so many nurses will become ill with Covid-19 that patient care can no longer be guaranteed.
In some cases, the Austrians have to attribute the new blockade to themselves. After the country coped with the first wave of the pandemic relatively well in the spring, some oversight spread. This Saturday there was also a crowd in the shopping streets of Vienna, as if the pandemic were far away. Some stores attracted discounted customers and long lines quickly formed.
Unfortunately, government intervention now seems necessary to prevent people from acting on short notice. Not only is the stability of the health system at stake, but also the condition of certain sectors in the medium term.
Austrian tourism in particular is on the brink of collapse. It contributes around 7.5% of the gross domestic product, much more than in many industrialized countries. Tourism in Vienna has dropped since March; many companies are economically on the brink. The same cannot be repeated in the winter resorts of the west of the country. Currently, the risk of the winter season being largely canceled is high. With the latest drastic measures, Austria is also fighting for the survival of an important economic sector.
