Austria imposes three-week national lockdown to reset Covid-19 crisis

Austrians will go into a three-week coronavirus lockdown in response to stubbornly increasing case numbers and shrinking hospital capacity, the government announced on Saturday.

Starting on Tuesday and lasting until December 6, schools will switch to distance learning, most shops will be closed and a curfew will come into force, while people are asked to work from home.

“My urgent request for the next weeks is this: Don’t meet anyone! Every social contact is one too many,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told a press conference.

“It’s the only way we can salvage Christmas,” he said, offering hope that measures will be relaxed in time for the major holiday in late December.