Friday 5th November 2021
Even when visiting the hairdresser
In Austria, 2G applies from Monday
The corona numbers in Austria almost reach the highs of last year. The government is responding by rolling out the 2G rule across the country. This even prevents unvaccinated people from going to the hairdresser. The tourism industry is also affected.
In view of the near record number of infections and the increasing utilization of the intensive care units, Austria has decided to introduce drastic restrictions for unvaccinated people. As of Monday, only those who have been vaccinated and recovered will have access to restaurants, cafes, hotels, leisure facilities, tourism businesses or body-friendly service providers such as hairdressers, said Federal Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg after consultations with the provincial governors. Tests should remain possible in the workplace. “We will have to pull the reins tighter for the unvaccinated,” said Schallenberg.
In the future, 2G will also apply to events with more than 25 people. In addition, an FFP2 mask must be worn in all shops, museums or libraries. In addition, the top government appealed to the already vaccinated population to get the third dose.
According to the Ministry of Health, 9388 new infections were recently reported across Austria. The new infections are approaching the record from a year ago. There are currently 1,831 people in hospital for treatment due to the corona virus. 356 of them are cared for in intensive care units. “The situation in Austria is serious,” said Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein. The minister recently announced that the occupancy of intensive care units would exceed the threshold of 400 beds on Monday. This corresponds to a 20 percent utilization of the capacities.
Vaccinated people also have to be careful
With these drastic restrictions, the government hopes to get more unvaccinated people to vaccinate. According to the Ministry of Health, around 64 percent of the population in Austria is currently vaccinated, which is roughly the same as the European Union. Among the vaccine skeptics in Austria is the right-wing populist FPÖ, the third largest party in Austria.
For the time being, a four-week transition period will apply, during which the first vaccination in conjunction with a PCR test will also apply. After that you have to be vaccinated twice or have recovered in the past six months. “The whole thing serves as an incentive. As a strong incentive that people get vaccinated,” said Schallenberg. The pressure on people who are already fully vaccinated is also increased so that as many of them as possible can have a booster vaccination: In future, vaccination cards will only be valid for nine months after the second partial vaccination.