1 February 2021

The more 'relaxed' lockdown starts in Austria on 8th February: Stores, museums, hair salons,... will open again with more restrictive rules

Life is currently like a rollercoaster ride! Today, the government presented details about the announced new rules for after the end of the lockdown at a press conference. Rumours were spread already several days before the conference such as that schools, stores, museums, zoos or hair salons will open again on 8th February; and the prognosis was right. It was also supposed that the hospitality industry (gastronomy, hotels) would have to wait until the end of the month. Today, the 15th February was mentioned as a deadline for further plans concerning the opening of gastronomy or cultural events like music concerts; crucial are the numbers of new infections and death rates in the next two weeks. The more relaxed lockdown from 8th February includes measures such as curfew (20:00 - 6:00), obligatory FFP2 masks and 2 meters distance. The visit of a coffee house appears to have been a hundred years ago! And it won't be possible in the next days or weeks! But getting delicious sweets from a pastry shop or restaurant via home delivery service or click & collect was already possible during the hard lockdown.

Image (captured on a walk through the popular recreation area Wiener Prater during 'hard' lockdown in 2021): The image shows parts of a scenery located at the Wiener Prater with a waiter serving coffee and a cake to a woman in long dress holding a parasol (sun protecting umbrella). The 'Altwiener Figuren' (Old Viennese Figures) group is a work of art by the Tyrolean sculptors Lois Fasching and Erich Ruprechter. It is reminiscent of 'Vienna around 1900'. The figures were placed on occasion of the new architecture of the Schweizerhausplatz and the opening of the amusement ride 'Prater Turm' (110 meter high) in May 2010.