Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz warns that the country is entering a new phase in the corona pandemic, and urges the population to adhere to the restrictions.
”"What we are experiencing right now is the beginning of the second wave. The number of infected people is increasing every day," he said in a written statement to the Austrian news agency APA.
Two weeks ago, around 350 new cases were reported per day in the country. The number has now risen to over 850, Kurz announced.
”"The development in Vienna is particularly dramatic, where around 50 percent of all new infections in Austria are reported. Soon we will pass a thousand new cases a day," he says.
Austria, whose population is slightly smaller than Sweden's, has fared relatively well during the pandemic, with just over 750 deaths, compared to Sweden's nearly 6,000. The number of daily new cases may worry the government in Vienna, but is significantly lower than in some other European countries - France, which admittedly has more than seven times the population, reported 10,000 new cases on Saturday.
In Sweden, the situation currently looks somewhat better: The Public Health Agency does not report new cases on weekends, but reported 311 new cases on Friday.
On Friday, Kurz announced that the government will tighten the mask rules. Starting Monday, Austrians will have to cover their mouths and noses in all shops and public buildings. Until now, wearing a mask in grocery stores and on public transport has been sufficient.
Source: TT
