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The general lockdown ends at midnight on Saturday, but openings vary by country. A new ordinance regulates private gatherings.
In the night from Saturday to Sunday, the lockdown ends, gastronomy and trade are allowed to open again. However, not all federal states will make use of this – initially, only the high-incidence states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol as well as Burgenland will open to the full extent. In Vienna, people will have to wait a week longer to visit the pubs. The exit restrictions for the unvaccinated remain in place.
An overview of the rules in the provinces:
VIENNA
TRADE – With 12 December opens with 2G and FFP2 mask obligation the complete trade, also body related service providers.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE – May open only on 20 December. The 2G-plus rule is not coming. Gastro will have an 11 p.m. curfew.
EVENTS – For those who can hardly wait, the Konzerthaus or Theater in der Josefstadt will open on Sunday (December 12), followed by the State Opera on Monday with Don Giovanni. Christmas markets open from December 12, punch is only available as take-away for the time being.
BURGENLAND
TRADE – Opens as well as body-related service providers from Monday. 2G and FFP2 masks are mandatory.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE – Except for night gastronomy, everything opens under 2G rule and with FFP2 masks off the table. Stand-up catering and bar operations are prohibited. In spas, masks are compulsory in the entrance and changing areas, but not in the pool area.
UPPER AUSTRIA
TRADE – Opening of the complete trade including service providers close to the body only on 17 December.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE – Opening of both areas likewise only only on 17 December. However, the night gastronomy remains closed.
EVENTS – They can open , for example in the culture and sport range on 17 December again. For all areas, the federal requirements apply.
VORARLBERG
TRADE – Opening from December 12 with 2G and FFP2 mask obligation.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE – In the province with the currently highest seven-day incidence, pubs and restaurants open with curfew at 11 pm. However, Governor Wallner (ÖVP) has issued stricter accompanying measures for his province: Either a maximum of ten people plus their underage children or underage children to whom these people have supervisory duties, but no more than ten underage children, may sit at a table in restaurants, or people who live in the same household Hotels are likewise open.
EVENTS – Are allowed to take place. However, stricter rules apply than those set by the federal government: Events with assigned seating indoors (for example, concerts, theaters) and outdoors may have a maximum of 500 people.
STEIERMARK
TRADE – The commercial enterprises as well as the services close to the body may open starting from 12 December. FFP2 mask obligation and 2G rule apply.
GUESTRO/HOTELERIES – Food service and lodging establishments open only starting December 17.
EVENTS – In the cultural and sports sector, the federal measures apply. Gatherings in recreation and culture – outdoor with assigned seating maximum 4000 people. Indoor without assigned seating maximum 25 people. The 2G rule applies.
SALZBURG
TRADE – Opens Dec. 12 with 2G rule and FFP2 mask requirement.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE – The pubs and hotels will remain in lockdown for five more days. They may not reopen until Friday, Dec. 17, then under minimum federal requirements. Nighttime restaurants will remain closed.
EVENTS – Events, such as in the cultural and sports sector, are already allowed from December 12 again. The minimum standards set by the federal government apply here. These include the 2G rule and maximum limits for visitor numbers.
LOWER AUSTRIA
TRADE – Retailers and service providers close to the body are already opening their doors after the weekend. FFP2 mask obligation and 2G rule apply.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE – Accommodation and catering, however, still have to wait. Hotels and gastro open on 17. 12.
EVENTS – Sports and cultural events will be allowed under minimum federal requirements: 2G and FFP2 mandatory, with assigned seating indoor again with up to 2,000 guests, outdoor with up to 4,000. No mask requirement for active sporting activities.
CARINTHIA
TRADE General trade may unlock with 2G rule and FFP2 mask obligation also in Carinthia from December 12.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE – Gastronomy and the hotel industry will not open until Friday, December 17, five days after culture, sports, commerce and body-related services.
EVENTS – Visitor restrictions, FFP2 obligation, 2G rules.
TIROL
COMMERCE and TRADE – Complete opening from December 12, 2G and mask obligation as prerequisites.
GASTRO/HOTELLERIE Opens with 12th, Gastro with curfew at 11pm. Food and beverages may be consumed at the seating area only, off-seat FFP2 mask requirement applies; night gastro remains closed.
EVENTS – With assigned seating as of Dec. 12 indoor up to 2,000 people, outdoor up to 4,000 people; events without assigned seating: indoor up to 25 people, outdoor up to 300 people; 2G applies in all cases.
Minimum size regulated by the federal government
The federal government has set the minimum level for regulations: FFP2 masks indoors; retail, hotels, culture, sports and restaurants may unlock. The night gastronomy remains closed. At schools, the current measures apply until Christmas, and the vacations thereafter are extended: school does not start until January 10.
Private gatherings will be allowed again. However, this will be subject to at least the following federal guidelines for weddings, birthday parties, Christmas parties and so on, if held indoors and without assigned seating: maximum of 25 people. For outdoor events, a maximum of 300 people is allowed. In addition, a Covid officer/designee must be appointed who is responsible for monitoring the 2G rule and collecting contact information from everyone. FFP2 masking is mandatory and notification is required if there are more than 50 attendees.
Smaller gatherings are not explicitly regulated in the regulation. However, there is a negative provision: It states that requirements such as the collection of contact data or the 2G rule do not apply to gatherings “in which no more than four people from different households participate”, plus six children – who of the participants is vaccinated is irrelevant. Also in the legal justifications for the regulation – is stated that “gatherings of less than five persons from less than three households plus six minor children of these persons and minors towards whom these persons exercise existing supervisory duties may not be regulated in any case”.
Conversely, this means that the rules in the ordinance apply to gatherings above this size. In contrast to previous ordinances, the passage that explicitly states that private living space is exempt from these rules is also missing. Whereby even this negative regulation has no influence on the living rooms of Austrians, according to Neos deputy and lawyer Nikolaus Scherak: “I am convinced that the Minister of Health cannot rule with regulations into the private living area”, because these are a sensitive, protected area.
Rupert Wolff, President of the Austrian Bar Association, summarizes all this in three groups: Suppose five unvaccinated people meet in an apartment, that’s not allowed, the reason being exit restrictions. Suppose four vaccinated meet in an apartment, that is allowed. But if a fifth vaccinated person joins them, the rules for events kick in, such as the mask requirement. The only thing is: “This may not be controlled without reason,” says Wolff. So the police are not allowed to come by and see how many people are in an apartment – but they can set penalties if they come for other reasons, such as a noise nuisance, and find that there are too many people in an apartment.
source: derstandard.at/picture:pixabay.com
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