New Delhi (NVI): Austria will go into its third coronavirus lockdown after Christmas and lift it earlier for people who get tested, the government said, just 11 days after its second lockdown ended.
Non-essential shops reopened last week after a nearly three-week-long lockdown that brought daily infections below 3,000 from a peak of more than 9,000. However, a nighttime curfew is still in place.
Larger gatherings of up to 10 people from 10 different households will be allowed over Christmas, however, and that is sure to accelerate infections again.
“The prognosis for all of Europe is a very, very dramatic one and we are now already seeing exploding infection numbers in many other countries,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told a news conference.
“That means since we are not an island and we have many exchanges with other countries that we can now expect that here, too, exponential growth is possible at any moment,” he said adding that a lockdown was the best response.
The new lockdown will start on December 26. Shops, restaurants, theatres, museums and schools will reopen the week of Jan. 18. Mass tests will be held on Jan. 15-17, enabling people who test negative to end their lockdown sooner.
For those who do not get tested, lockdown will last until January 24.
-CHK
