New: Shortened quarantine for symptom-free
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With a little delay, the new coronavirus rules apply with immediate effect. The mask requirement will be tightened, but the quarantine will be relaxed. After five days, you no longer have to be tested freely, two days without symptoms are enough to go to work. Nobody checks that.
It could be confusing for many citizens: first the Covid rules were imposed on the population from above for years, now everyone is suddenly supposed to decide for themselves when they can go back to work after the quarantine. This is confirmed by Peter Schinnerl, head of the state’s corona management: “On the sixth day of the quarantine you get a text message from the state in the morning – if you confirm that you are symptom-free, you are in the traffic restriction”.
Strict mask requirement
Traffic restrictions mean: shopping yes, leaving the house yes, working yes, just not in hospitals and nursing homes. The prerequisite for this is two days without symptoms and a strong mask requirement. This is not controlled, the decision lies solely with the citizen. The background is the enormous problems in almost all companies due to the high number of staff shortages. The point is that people without symptoms can go back to work, says Corona Manager Schinnerl.
Risk assessed as manageable
The risk is assessed as manageable: “From the current evidence, we assume that the risk of infection decreases over time and the absence of symptoms – which also corresponds to the current scientific findings. That’s why the federal government decided to shorten the quarantine,” says Schinnerl
However, some federal states such as Vienna, Burgenland and Carinthia (all SPÖ-led) do not take this risk. They reject the new quarantine lockdowns.