VIENNA (dpa-AFX) – After more than two months, the lockdown for unvaccinated people will formally end in Austria next Monday. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (VP) announced this on Wednesday. An expert committee set up by the government no longer considers this measure to be sensible.
Despite the high number of infections in the current corona wave, there is no risk of overloading the intensive care capacities in the clinics, it said. At the same time, however, the 2G rule will remain in place in large parts of public life, which, for example, only allows the unvaccinated to shop in shops for daily needs. In return, people who have not been vaccinated against Corona can leave their homes from Monday without a good reason.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Health, the number of new infections within 24 hours rose to a record 34,011 cases. Taking into account the number of inhabitants, this would correspond to around 300,000 cases in Germany. The seven-day incidence in Austria is well over 2,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
In the worst case, the experts of the Covid Prognosis Consortium expect almost 50,000 new infections every day. As soon as the peak of the fifth corona wave has been reached, a decision will be made whether to withdraw the restrictive measures, said Nehammer. The curfew in the catering trade from 10 p.m. is particularly controversial./mrd/DP/ngu