Austria: Vienna and eastern states extend coronavirus lockdown
Austrian officials decided on Tuesday in Vienna to extend the coronavirus lockdown in the country's east by a week.
Austrian officials decided on Tuesday afternoon to extend the lockdown in the eastern states of Vienna, Burgenland and Lower Austria.
The lockdown will be extended from the 11th until the 18th of April.
On April 12th, the lockdown in Vienna and Lower Austria was again extended until May 2nd, while it expires on 18th April in Burgenland.
Initially put in place in the eastern states for less than a week on April 1st to cover the Easter period, the lockdown was first extended until the 11th of April.
In early April, it emerged that Vienna had decided to extend the lockdown by a week. Both Burgenland and Lower Austria later decided to follow in a show of solidarity.
The lockdown includes schools, meaning that distance learning will continue until at least April 25th in Vienna and Lower Austria, but schools will go back to face-to-face lessons on April 19th in Burgenland.
READ MORE: What are the latest coronavirus measures in schools and kindergartens in Austria?
Why has the lockdown been extended?
Officials in the eastern states are concerned about rising infection rates fuelled by the prevalence of the British mutation of the virus, which is estimated to represent more than 80 percent of the new coronavirus infections in the region.
Coronavirus: ICUs at record capacity in Vienna and eastern Austria
The principal concern of authorities in eastern Austria is the amount of people who are being hospitalised due to the virus, both in general admissions and in intensive care.
ICU admissions in both Vienna and Lower Austria are currently at their highest point since the start of the pandemic, Austrian media reported on Tuesday.
Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said on Tuesday that the lockdown was likely to be extended further unless ICU numbers fell in the east of the country.
Ludwig however declined to set out an exact metric from which the lockdown could be relaxed, saying it was important to take all data into account.
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Austrian officials decided on Tuesday afternoon to extend the lockdown in the eastern states of Vienna, Burgenland and Lower Austria.
The lockdown will be extended from the 11th until the 18th of April.
On April 12th, the lockdown in Vienna and Lower Austria was again extended until May 2nd, while it expires on 18th April in Burgenland.
Initially put in place in the eastern states for less than a week on April 1st to cover the Easter period, the lockdown was first extended until the 11th of April.
In early April, it emerged that Vienna had decided to extend the lockdown by a week. Both Burgenland and Lower Austria later decided to follow in a show of solidarity.
The lockdown includes schools, meaning that distance learning will continue until at least April 25th in Vienna and Lower Austria, but schools will go back to face-to-face lessons on April 19th in Burgenland.
READ MORE: What are the latest coronavirus measures in schools and kindergartens in Austria?
Why has the lockdown been extended?
Officials in the eastern states are concerned about rising infection rates fuelled by the prevalence of the British mutation of the virus, which is estimated to represent more than 80 percent of the new coronavirus infections in the region.
Coronavirus: ICUs at record capacity in Vienna and eastern Austria
The principal concern of authorities in eastern Austria is the amount of people who are being hospitalised due to the virus, both in general admissions and in intensive care.
ICU admissions in both Vienna and Lower Austria are currently at their highest point since the start of the pandemic, Austrian media reported on Tuesday.
Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said on Tuesday that the lockdown was likely to be extended further unless ICU numbers fell in the east of the country.
Ludwig however declined to set out an exact metric from which the lockdown could be relaxed, saying it was important to take all data into account.
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