Germany may extend lockdown until Easter because of the British Covid mutation. Now Austria also faces the threat of an extension.
Since December 26, Austria has been in its third hard lockdown. And could remain so for even longer. heute.at published the following details:
In Germany, the lockdown could last until early April instead of January 31. “If we don’t manage to hold off this British virus, we’ll have a tenfold incidence by Easter,” Merkel told the Bild newspaper.
In the Slovakian capital, 50 percent of new infections are already due to the mutated B117 virus. Problematic for Austria: the large number of Slovak commuters who work in our country.
On Tuesday, B117 was also detected in several retirement and nursing homes in Vienna. In one of them, 42 of 101 residents have been infected with the mutation since January 5. The home has imposed a visitation and admission ban.
Government leaders discussed further action on Tuesday. Details on the road map ahead were not yet available. “There are current discussions on the next steps. We are currently evaluating the situation – especially with regard to the rising infection figures in many European countries,” was all that was said in response to a heute.at question from the Health Ministry.
Until now, it was planned that schools would reopen on Monday. Trade and gastronomy were to follow a week later. That is probably off the table. The school lockdown is likely to be extended until the end of the semester. In the other areas, the lockdown could even last until Easter.
How to proceed is to be discussed today in the Council of Ministers.
From Monday to Tuesday, there were 1,575 new infections in Austria. A total of 6,819 people have died from or with Corona.
- source: heute.at/picture: pixabay.com
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