Vienna Austria will introduce strict widespread measures against the spread of coronavirus from the end of next week. From Saturday, December 26, they will not be allowed to open stores except those that sell everyday goods. Services with close physical contact will also be closed again. Schools will move to distance learning from January 7 to 15. This was announced by the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
The opening of ski resorts is to be a matter for the individual Länder. The FFP2 class respirator will be required on cable cars and lifts, Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler said.
Due to persistently high increases in newly coronavirus infections, Austria will lock itself after 11 days until the next, already the third so-called lockdown, when a large part of the services will be limited in order to limit people encounters.
Most of the shops in the country will close again and will be allowed to open again on January 18, along with restaurants, schools, museums and theaters, the Austrian government said in a statement on Friday. Restaurants or hotels will remain closed for at least a week longer than originally planned.
Austria will open ski resorts from 24 December. But I would not plan a holiday in the Alps yet, said Petříček |
Austrians will only be able to go out during the third lockdown period again in justified cases, such as walks, trips to work or shopping. It will also apply to New Year’s Eve.
Until January 24, the lockdown will apply to people who will not be tested for coronavirus during the second phase of mass testing from January 15 to 17. The APA writes that participation in this testing will not actually be voluntary, because anyone who wants to visit shops, cultural facilities or restaurants from January 18 will have to prove themselves with a negative test.
In addition, test people will again be allowed to meet people from another household. The Austrian government hopes that soon people will be able to perform the tests themselves at home. According to the Exchange, from January 18, the police will randomly check whether people attending cultural events or restaurants are actually being tested. People without tests will only be allowed to work or shop for groceries, but only with FFP2 respirators.
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Ski lifts and cable cars may remain in operation despite the lockdown, but skiers will need to wear FFP2 respirators. They can start operating on December 24, but due to closed hotels, restaurants and bars, they will practically only be used by locals.
“This is the only way to reopen tourism, culture and gastronomy in times of pandemic, while preventing the numbers from exploding again,” Kurz told a news conference about the measures. He stressed that the Austrians will still spend Christmas “as planned”, but then measures will be tightened to reduce the number of newly infected per 100,000 population in seven days to less than 100, in the last week this value was 206. Over Christmas will be allowed meeting up to ten people from ten different households.
The Austrian government relaxed previous restrictions after just three weeks on December 7. Shops, schools and museums could open again, while gastronomic establishments or hotels remained closed. The epidemic failed to slow down. Recently, there are approximately 2,600 newly infected people and almost 120 deaths every day in a country of nine million.
Austria is tightening up measures. Saxony will reduce border contact with the Czech Republic, it will not be possible to go shopping |
Switzerland has also reported a tightening of measures against the spread of coronavirus. From next Tuesday, restaurants, cinemas, museums and sports facilities will have to close in this Alpine country as well, but shops and ski resorts may remain open despite criticism from abroad. However, individual cantons can close ski areas. If the situation does not improve next year, further tightening will come, warned Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga.
Switzerland, with a population of 8.6 million, is one of the countries with the highest increases in infection relative to Europe. Recently, there are more than 4,000 cases of infection and more than a hundred related deaths every day.
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