The Austrian government announced on Monday evening an easing of the containment in place since December 26 to stem the spread of the coronavirus: schools, museums and shops will reopen on February 8.
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“We are far from our ideal scenario of an incidence rate of 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days,” admitted Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at a press conference.
However, “other aspects” must be taken into account, he stressed, citing in particular the urgent need for children to return to class after weeks of closure, as well as social and psychological aspects.
“We have therefore decided unanimously to take prudent easing measures”, while taking the necessary precautions, said the leader after a day of negotiations with experts, opposition political parties. and the governors of the different regions.
The students, who have only had a few days of classes since the beginning of November, will be able to find their teachers and classmates, with regular tests and a system of rotations for those in middle and high schools.
Stores will also be able to reopen their doors, as will museums, hairdressers and zoos. The government recalled the obligation for customers and visitors to wear FPP2 masks, which are more filtering.
A report will be drawn up on February 15: the fate of restaurants, sporting and cultural events will then be debated. But if the number of contaminations starts to rise again, the screw will have to be tightened again, warned Mr. Kurz.
The only exception to the confinement decreed at Christmas, outdoor sports remain authorized, in particular skiing. Several sources of contamination have been discovered in recent weeks and foreigners have poured in, arousing the ire of part of the population.
Austria, relatively untouched by the first wave, currently records more than a thousand new cases daily. In total, nearly 7,800 deaths have been recorded since the emergence of the pandemic in this country of 8.9 million inhabitants.
The government initially hoped to drop to around 700 cases per day, but residents’ weariness, even anger, is noticeable.
On Sunday, some 10,000 people in Vienna braved a ban on demonstrating against the restrictions, two weeks after a parade of the same magnitude. Other gatherings took place in other towns.
“It was a heterogeneous group bringing together the far right, identities and hooligans, but also families with children,” said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer in a statement released Monday.
The police made 32 arrests and fined 2,300 people across the country, in particular for non-compliance with health measures (wearing a mask, distance of 2 meters, etc.).