Vienna, Nov. 3, (dpa/GNA) – Austria is entering a partial lockdown for at least four weeks starting Tuesday, in a bid to avoid overburdening the health system during a second wave of coronavirus infections.
The measures come into force as the capital Vienna was widely shut down, with at least one suspect still at large after a terror attack on Monday.
In contrast to the first national lockdown imposed earlier this year, shops and most schools were due to remain open. However, in Vienna pupils are allowed to stay at home on Tuesday due to the security situation in the city.
Nationwide, restaurants, bars and almost all cultural and leisure institutions are to close. People may not leave their homes between 8 pm and 6 am (1900 and 0500 GMT), except if they have a valid reason.
The measures were imposed to avoid the health sector reaching full capacity, which was predicted to happen in mid-November. The number of intensive care beds occupied by Covid-19 patients has risen by 78 per cent within one week.
Austria recorded an average of 336 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last week, although in some regions like Tyrol the number was even higher.
GNA