“The regulation is there, of course we will implement it”

A long queue has formed in front of the Thalia bookstore on Linzer Landstrasse. An employee specially requested by a security company only lets in those who show 2G proof and photo ID. “I was surprised that I have to queue. But that’s what we get out of it now,” says a woman while she waits. “That is a lot that the dealers are hanging out with.”

A few meters further on, Sabine Weissensteiner has developed a very stoic attitude. “Now the regulation is there, of course we will implement it,” says the owner of the Fürstelberger bookstore.

In all shops that do not serve daily needs, employees now have to check the 2G proof and photo ID for each customer – either at the entrance or at the cash desk. Weissensteiner prefers the first variant: “What is the point if I advise the customer for an hour and then notice at the cash desk that he has no evidence?”

Since two employees always work at the same time in your business anyway, you can take turns during the controls. “The people are very disciplined, we try to do it as quickly and easily as possible,” says Weissensteiner.

The inspection obligation is sometimes a challenge, especially for smaller retailers. “At the moment it is still stressful to advise and monitor new customers at the same time. Today there are two of us, but we are often alone in the business,” says Anita Huber-Katzengruber from the clothing store Clothes Make People. “But we will certainly get used to it.”

Police presence at hotspots

The on-site inspection on Landstrasse shows that the shops handle the controls differently: In the Passage department store, for example, there is an offer to get a stamp right at the entrance. This can then be shown at the entrances of the shops in the shopping center and is intended to shorten the checks in the house. Other shops only check at the cash desk. Others only ask for 2G proof, but not for photo ID.

As announced, several police officers were on the road yesterday to ensure that the shops were carrying out checks. They also checked whether the passers-by wear FFP2 masks outside as prescribed when a distance of two meters from other pedestrians is not possible.

In the event of violations, however, there is no immediate threat of a report. “We rely on dialogue. If someone does not wear the mask, we point it out first. If the person complies with the request, the control is already over. We proceed in a similar way with transactions,” says police spokesman Michael Babl.

Manfred Zöchbauer, managing director of the trade division at WKOÖ, was satisfied with the first day of the controls yesterday: “There were only a few detailed questions, for example about joint controls in shopping centers. Overall, however, everything seems to be working well.”

Local inspection of the OÖN editors in Vöcklabruck, Wels, Perg and Ried

The Vöcklabruck shopping center “Varena” offers voluntary controls at three 2G service checkpoints. “There people show their vaccination certificate and pick up a stamp with which they can go into all shops,” says center manager Thomas Krötzl. That works smoothly and runs without emotions.

No matter whether in the shoe, fashion or lingerie store – the Wels editorial staff inspected 2G as soon as they entered the store. In the Welser max.center, customers are given a 2G stamp so that they only have to show the proof once.

The 2G requirement in Perg is not completely checked, as a random sample by OÖN editor Bernhard Leitner showed. While the Green Pass had to be presented at the checkout when shopping in the retail park center, the status was not asked at the entrance or at the checkout in a shop in the city center.

After just two steps in the business, OÖN editor Josef Debt Sugar is kindly asked for proof of 2G. Doris Nimmerfall, trade clerk at Schuhmode Kürmayr in Ried: “The acceptance of the controls is very good. The customers understand that we have to ask them. Anything is better than a lockdown.”