Police want to “significantly increase control pressure”
Vienna. The new restrictions for unvaccinated people in Austria are to be enforced with a broad use of police patrols. “We will significantly increase the control pressure in the next few days,” said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on Monday during a press conference.
Since the beginning of the week, only those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered from Covid-19 have access to bars, fitness centers, events and hairdressing salons.
The measure was announced at short notice on Friday to stop the increase in the number of infections, prevent the congestion of hospitals and increase the vaccination rate.
The police are now planning key actions, for example in the catering industry or in service companies. But it is important to act carefully and to work with the population to implement the new regulation, said the conservative interior minister, referring to the increasing vaccination rates. It is a sign of the positive incentive effect of 2G, “if the willingness to vaccinate now increases, because it is nice to sit together in the pub, and because it is nice, limited to public life”.
Tense situation in clinics
At the same time, a very high value of new corona infections was recorded again on Monday in Austria. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Health, 8178 new cases of infection were registered within 24 hours. The seven-day incidence climbed to around 633, three times as high as in Germany. The situation in the clinics is becoming more and more tense. The number of patients in normal and intensive care units rose in the double-digit range within a day.
Since Monday, only those who have been vaccinated and recovered have been allowed to visit bars, hairdressers and fitness studios, use cable cars or go to sports and cultural events. An FFP2 mask is sufficient in museums. Those who have recovered are treated the same as those who have been vaccinated for up to 180 days.
Given the development for the entire hotel industry around the winter season. December is a particularly high-turnover month for the city hotel industry in Vienna because of the foreign visitors to Christmas markets and museums, said Matthias Winkler from the Viennese luxury hotel “Sacher” on Monday on the Puls24 channel.
International guests are very much oriented towards the incidence as a measure of the risk of infection. If travel warnings are issued for Austria, then the winter season – also for the city hotel industry – is definitely in danger, said Winkler.