Back to light lockdown in Austria: What is allowed, what remains prohibited

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The new regulation brings with Monday much expected and some surprises. It applies until 23 December – for ski lifts and family celebrations thereby uncertainty remains.

On Monday the new Covid regulation comes into force, yesterday the text was online. It is limited in time with 23 December.
The following points are fixed for the next 18 days:
▶Curfew: The night-time restrictions will return. During the day you are allowed to move freely, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. you are only allowed to stay outside your own living area for certain reasons. The previously valid exceptions have been clarified: for example, it is now possible to meet with “individual important reference persons” even if contact has taken place several times a week only via cell phone. Previously, the exception only applied to physical contact. Participation in mass tests is also an exception, as are visits to cemeteries and places of worship.
▶Private meetings: During the night, the restriction remains that a household may receive a maximum of one other person or a single person may receive another household. During the day, a maximum of six adults plus six underage children from two different households may meet.
▶Trade: All stores are allowed to open, ten square meters must be available per customer, masks must be worn. The opening hours are limited to 19 o’clock. There are new rules for shopping centers: It is not allowed to linger or consume (brought along) food and drinks in general areas.
▶General Services: They are also allowed to go back to work, but are not allowed to serve food and drinks to customers. The 10 m2 rule and the mask obligation apply.
▶Gastronomie & hotel industry: a ban on entering the premises continues to apply with the same exceptions as before (e.g. canteens, overnight stays at work). New is that catering/restaurant trade enterprises may not serve open alcoholic beverages. This makes punch stands impossible. Alpine and ski huts are also affected by the ban.
▶Sport & skiing: Ski lifts and gondolas remain closed for tourist purposes. But outdoor sports facilities may open. This concerns e.g. ice skating rinks, cross-country skiing trails, golf courses. A condition is that it does not come with the sport-specific practice to the body contact. Soccer fields remain closed.
▶Recreation and culture: Entering leisure and cultural facilities remains prohibited. Exceptions are museums, art galleries, cultural exhibition halls, libraries, libraries and archives. The same rules apply as in retail.
▶Old Folks homes, Hospitals: Visiting restrictions remain in place. In old people’s homes, nursing homes and homes for the disabled: one visitor per resident per week; in hospitals and health resorts also – provided the patient stays longer than one week. Exceptions are made for pregnant women, minors or hospice care, among others.
▶Travel: The exact rules for entry and the associated quarantine regulations are not yet clear. They will be regulated in a separate decree, which will not be available until next week. – read COVID 19 entry rules for more information.