Shortly after the easing of many corona measures, Austria rowed back. Will the rules soon become stricter again in Germany?
Vienna – While Germany is currently arguing about the easing of corona measures, Austria is tightening the rules again. Only about two weeks ago, the rules to contain the pandemic in the neighboring country were largely lifted despite high incidences. Now the Minister of Health is rowing back.
As Johannes Rauch, Minister for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection of the Republic of Austria, announced on Twitter on Friday (March 18th, 2022), “an FFP2 mask requirement indoors will again apply throughout Austria in the course of the next week.” the quarantine rules for corona infected people are revised. According to the dpa news agency, the main plan is to shorten the quarantine for employees in hospitals and care facilities in order to avoid overloading these facilities.
Corona rules in Austria: the obligation to wear a mask is being expanded
It was not until March 6th that Austria largely lifted its corona restrictions despite high incidence rates. Since then, it has been possible, among other things, to visit hotels, restaurants and bars without proof of vaccination, recovery or testing. In addition, the general night-time curfew and the upper limits for visitors to events were dropped. The obligation to wear an FFP2 mask only applied in certain indoor areas such as hospitals, public transport and essential shops.
| Republic of Austria | |
|---|---|
| resident | 8.9 million |
| surface | 83,882.56 square kilometers |
| official language | German |
| government | ÖVP and Greens |
Change of course in Corona policy in Austria: A look into the future for Germany?
It is still unclear which exact corona measures will now be reintroduced in Austria. According to the Minister of Health, the new rules should come into force on Wednesday (March 23, 2022). Rauch justified the change of course by saying that experts had “corrected the forecasts for the course of the omicron wave” in the past few days. In many hospitals, old people’s and nursing homes, the staff situation is tense.
However, the situation in Austria was anything but stable at the time of the most recent easing. On the day the measures were lifted, the number of new corona infections was over 31,000. At the same time, the seven-day incidence in Austria was 2273. In the meantime, the reference value in the neighboring country has risen to 3600. In Germany, the corona incidence was 1706 on Monday (March 21, 2022). The health authorities in Germany reported 92,314 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. In view of the easing in this country, the change of course in Austria could serve as a glimpse into the future. (vbu with dpa/AFP)
