Hairdressers and stores in Vienna to reopen on May 3

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On May 3, stores and hairdressers in Vienna will be allowed to reopen.

Vienna ends lockdown on May 3
After more than a month of hard lockdown, some normality will return to the federal capital next week. In addition to retail, hairdressers, beauticians, masseurs and other “body-related service providers” will be allowed to reopen on Monday (May 3). The industries affected are delighted.

Stores and hairdressers open: These rules apply
As before, masks are mandatory, distance rules and a minimum area of 20 square meters per person apply. For service providers, an appointment is recommended. Prerequisite for entry is a negative antigen test (not older than 48 hours) or a negative PCR test (not older than 72 hours). A corona infection experienced in the last six months with written proof allows for visits to body-based service providers without testing. There is no testing requirement in the trade.

Retailers pleased with opening

Margarete Gumprecht, chairwoman of the trade division in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, expressed confidence on Tuesday that businesses now had to go through a Corona lockdown for the last time. The opening was particularly important, she said, as the stationary retail sector in Vienna suffered a 5.3 percent drop in sales in 2020. Excluding the sectors that serve basic needs, the drop in sales in the stationary retail sector would be around 15 percent.

Rainer Trefelik, chairman of the Federal Trade Party in the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), considers the uniform opening of the entire eastern region to be the only correct step. “Vienna and Lower Austria are closely linked. Neither between the businesses nor between the consumers of both provinces can clear boundaries be drawn in practice.”

Lower Austria also opens up again
Lower Austria had already decided last week to reopen stores as of May 3. In total, the closed shopping days in Vienna and Lower Austria add up to 116 days, according to the trade association, Burgenland comes to 104, the other six provinces would be at 90 days in three hard lockdowns.

Tourism and gastronomy still need patience
On the other hand, tourism and gastronomy will have to wait. The government has promised a uniform opening for mid-May.