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Austria's Chancellor Kurz: "Most infections take place with people who know each other, who like each other"
Photo: Hans Punz / dpa
Due to the massive increase in new infections with the corona virus, Austria is massively restricting public life.
"From Tuesday, November 3rd, midnight until the end of November, there will be a second lockdown in Austria," said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) on Saturday.
Exit restrictions apply nationwide between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
During this time, leaving the apartment is only permitted for specific reasons.
Cultural and leisure facilities must close, as well as the hotel and hospitality industry - only take-away and delivery are allowed.
Sports without spectators, children with masks
Events no longer take place with the exception of top-class sport, but without an audience.
Recreational sports are only allowed outdoors without physical contact.
Trade and service providers such as hairdressers remain open.
Children up to the tenth grade should "for the time being" continue to kindergarten and - with a mask requirement from the age of six - go to school, the upper school and students should study from home.
"It is necessary to take this step in order to avoid overloading the intensive care medicine," said Kurz.
"Our goal is to gradually reopen in December and return to a reasonably normal life."
Parliament's main committee still has to approve the measures on Sunday afternoon.
The regulation is valid until November 30th, the exit restrictions must be approved by parliament every ten days.
Most infections in people "who know, who like"
The number of infections in Austria has been rising to new highs almost daily for weeks.
The government fears that the hospitals will soon become overloaded.
On Saturday, Austria counted 5349 new cases within 24 hours to its almost nine million inhabitants, after the record value of 5627 new infections in one day was reported on Friday.
In the past seven days there was an average of 301.1 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, in the federal states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol even significantly more than 400 each.
"Most of the infections take place with people who know each other, who like each other," emphasized Kurz.
He therefore called the nocturnal exit restriction "de facto a ban on visitors".
It is permitted to leave the private living space between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. to relax outdoors, for basic needs, for care or family support, for work or in the event of danger.
No "look-up" in private living spaces
The regulation also contains contact restrictions, according to which only people from two households are allowed to meet at home.
However, the regulation could be legally challenged as private space in Austria is strictly protected by the constitution.
"The police will not begin to look into private homes," said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP).
Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) promised that compensation should be paid out quickly.
Affected companies should receive up to 80 percent of their sales from the comparison period - an average month of the previous year -, a maximum of 800,000 euros.
Blümel estimated the total costs to be around one billion euros.
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fek / dpa