Vienna extends the Corona-related Easter lockdown: Until April 11, retail, hairdressers & Co. remain closed, according to information from daily newspaper “Kronen Zeitung”. The announcement has been confirmed likewise by the Austrian Press Agency. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) had already announced the extension in advance – in the video conference Monday afternoon with Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens), the decision was now fixed. Ludwig followed the unanimous opinion of experts that there was no way around tougher measures to bring the situation in the intensive care units back under control.
Experts were again involved in the meeting, and the Chancellor’s Office was also present. According to reports, most experts had doubts as to whether the “Easter rest” from Thursday to Tuesday inclusive, with the closure of trade and exit restrictions around the clock, will be sufficient to stop the alarming development in the intensive care units. That’s because their occupancy rates will continue to rise until the restrictions take effect at all. Ludwig shared this view.
It is not yet clear whether the entire eastern region will be closed for longer or only Vienna. The Ministry of Health is said to consider a larger solution to be sensible. Lower Austria and Burgenland, however, still want to wait for developments in their respective states. Burgenland’s governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) is also said to have suggested convening a summit with all the provinces again on Easter Monday, as the infection figures are rising again nationwide.
In Lower Austria, it is hoped that, in addition to the “Easter rest”, the measures already taken will help to improve the situation. These include, for example, mandatory testing of K2 persons in cases of infection. At elementary schools and kindergartens, the class or group is already suspended in the event of a positive test. In the South African variant, on the other hand, quarantine does not end automatically after 14 days, but only when the test is negative or the level of infection is such that infection can practically be ruled out. In addition, there is an advance warning system if a community exceeds the incidence of 300 per 100,000 inhabitants.
- source: APA/picture: hp
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