Rest in the neighboring country: Austria shuts down for six days on Easter

Wednesday 24 March 2021

The rest is in the neighboring country
Austria shuts six days on Easter

In Germany, the Easter lockdown plan has just collapsed, in Austria they want to try such a breakwater for hotspot areas in Vienna and the surrounding area. The easing of the start of the week is now considered a “pilot project”.

In Vienna and other eastern regions of Austria, Corona measures are tightening around the Easter holiday. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober of the Green Party said a short “Easter break” was necessary to avoid an imminent increase in clinics in the capital and in Lower Austria and Burgenland.

The incidence rate for seven days in the eastern federal states is nearly 300, which is much higher than the Austrian average of about 247. This is due to the strong spread of the British virus variant, which also leads to severe Covid diseases more quickly. In front of journalists. That is why there is now a need for a “breakwater” against the pandemic.

“We really want to carry out operations in a big way in this Easter phase,” the minister said. Traders, hairdressers, and masseurs are closed from Maundy Thursday until the Tuesday after Easter. Anchober announced the exclusion of business related to daily needs after long negotiations with the heads of government of the three regions. Unlike Germany, shops and businesses in Austria usually open on Good Friday. Moreover, people should only go out for hiking, sports, and urgent trips during the holidays.

Note Berlin’s lap back closely

Schools will switch to teaching online for a week after Easter. In addition, the requirements for the mask are tightened in companies and in crowded places abroad. Travelers from neighboring countries to the east, such as the Czech Republic and Hungary, are required to submit two negative tests per week in place of the previous test.

She said from informed circles that the negotiators followed the withdrawal of German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the Easter holiday very closely. However, Austrian politicians finally decided to tighten it. The situation in the intensive care units was an important argument. In Vienna and Lower Austria, more than half of the beds designated for Covid patients are already occupied in intensive care units. Burgenland is close to the two-thirds mark.

The economy criticizes the lockdown

Before the decision, the Austrian Trade Union criticized the leaked plans. Society president Rainer Weil said the lockdown days had cost jobs but did not prevent infection. “The only company that will benefit greatly from this that can look forward to early Easter is Amazon.”

On Monday, after talks with all the heads of the nine federal states, the Vienna government initially refrained from taking further steps despite the growing infection trend and continued to rely on mass testing and vaccines. On Wednesday, Anchober warned that the Corona trend in eastern Austria could spread to the rest of the country. Therefore the closure should be viewed as a pilot project.