On Wednesday, the government will come out with the new Corona Ordinance for the upcoming holidays. It states, for example, that returnees from abroad must go into quarantine and that masks will now also be mandatory indoors. The regulation will apply until December 26 – but how New Year’s Eve can be celebrated this year remains unaffected.
Just over a week before Christmas, details of the proposed holiday ordinance emerged Tuesday. Beforehand, the details come from a draft sent to the main parliamentary committee, and the final version will be presented on Wednesday.
Christmas with ten people from ten households
As announced, the restrictions on private meetings on December 24 and 25 will be extended: ten people from up to ten different households will be allowed to meet. Included in this number are (minor) children. Nighttime curfew restrictions are also lifted on those two days. Until December 23 and on December 26, the following will continue to apply: during the day, six people from a maximum of two households may meet, plus a maximum of six underage children.
Between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on these days, only meetings with the closest person remain allowed. That is, a household is allowed to meet at most one person from outside the household, provided that he or she is a close family member (parents, children, siblings) or an important caregiver.
Mask obligation is extended
A new requirement is that masks must be worn indoors. It also applies to private meetings, such as in garages, sheds or barns, as well as funerals, meetings that cannot be postponed or seminars. Exceptions are also made for the 24th and 25th of December. Mouth-nose protection must also be worn in the workplace, where “physical contact” cannot be ruled out.
According to the explanation to the regulation, this is the case as soon as several people share an office. Excluded from the mask requirement, as has been the case with all rules, is the private living area. It is now also clear: On December 24, zoos and botanical gardens may open again. Gondolas and ski lifts can also be used again by tourists and amateur athletes. However, they must remain half empty. The regulation comes into force on Thursday and is valid until December 26. Accordingly, there is no regulation for New Year’s Eve.
Entry regulation with many exceptions
Also published on Tuesday was the announced entry regulation for the holidays. It provides that everyone who enters from December 19 must be in quarantine for ten days. After five days, people can be cleared at their own expense. Entries from Australia, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Uruguay, the Vatican, Finland and Ireland are exempted.
Regular commuters are exempt from quarantine, as are people entering the enclaves of Mittelberg (Kleinwalsertal), Vomp-Hinterriss or Jungholz. No test is required for those who come at least once a month for family purposes or to visit their life partner.
Nursing staff still allowed to cross border
Entry for unforeseeable, unpostponable reasons in the family circle, such as births or deaths, is also exempt from the quarantine requirement. This also applies for professional purposes – among other things, this ensures the transfer of nursing staff. Leaving the country before the end of the ten days terminates the quarantine.
— hp, Sources: orf.at and krone.at. pictures: orf.at and pixabay.com
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