Austrian government ends lockdown despite spread of coronavirus variant
On February 8, Austria’s black-green (conservative-green) coalition government ended entirely what had only been mild lockdown measures. This means that schools and commerce will be fully open despite the fact that infection and death rates remain high and very contagious viral variants are rapidly spreading in the country.
The number of new infections remains elevated. On Friday, 1,731 cases were reported, with a seven-day incidence continuously above 100 per 100,000 population. Over 432,000 people have already been infected with COVID-19 in a country of 8.8 million; 8,195 people have died from it as of Sunday. The situation in clinics remains tense despite recent declines in caseload.