March 5 brought Austria an end to most corona measures, only Vienna remains a little more cautious. It was initially unclear how high the number of reported new infections was on the day the rules and regulations were largely withdrawn. By Saturday afternoon, the 24-hour values were not yet complete from all federal states. “As soon as this is the case, the figures will be published,” the Ministry of Health said.
For Upper Austria, the state crisis management team reported 4,945 new infections on Saturday afternoon, which was below the weekly average of 5,121 new cases. 362 Covid patients had to be cared for in normal wards, 29 were in intensive care.
High readings on Friday
On Friday, the number of new infections within 24 hours was still very high at 32,419. More than 2,500 patients with Corona were cared for in the hospitals. Three days before the rule change, on Wednesday, the interior and health ministries had reported the second highest number of new infections since the beginning of the pandemic: 39,493 infected people were registered within 24 hours. There were only more with 43,053 – but thousands of them were late registrations – on January 27th. On its dashboard, AGES shows SARS-CoV-2 infections according to the day of the laboratory diagnosis. So far, there have only been two times higher daily values than last Wednesday – on February 1st with 44,183 cases and on February 8th with 39,963 cases .
Extensive openings
However, almost everything became possible again on Saturday, even if you have not been vaccinated, recovered or tested. There are no visitor restrictions or a curfew. This means that night gastronomy can also open up.
Video: The nightclubs were stormed on Saturday night
However, the FFP2 mask will remain in place across the country in some areas – anywhere you can’t really choose to go. This ranges from supermarkets and pharmacies to drugstores and garages. Masks are still compulsory in public transport, but not in cable cars, coaches and excursion boats. In Vienna, the mouth and nose must continue to be covered with an FFP2 mask in general retail. Only in the federal capital do you have to be vaccinated or have recovered in order to be able to visit bars.
Source: Nachrichten
