The Austrian government plans to impose new lockdown measures from Tuesday, lasting until Dec. 6, a draft government regulation obtained by dpa revealed on Saturday.
According to the government, the new lockdown measure will include closing shops, distance learning, a curfew and a two-person limit for private meetings.
The government is set to present the plan to the public on Saturday, in response to stubbornly-increasing case numbers and shrinking capacity in hospitals, in spite of the partial lockdown currently in place.
In early November, restaurants, bars, tourism businesses and cultural venues were mostly shuttered, while high school students were told to study remotely.
People were told to remain in their homes after 8 p.m. except for urgent business or to take exercise.
According to the draft, the new rules will resemble regulations under the country’s first full lockdown, imposed in March.
This means that all retailers except for grocery and drug stores will have to close, and that any schools that remain open will switch to remote learning.
However, parents unable to care for their children during the day will be allowed to send them to school.
Under the draft rules, people will only be allowed to leave their homes for essential activities including going to work, grocery shopping or visiting relatives.
There will also be a two-person limit on private meetings between people who do not live in the same household.
The daily number of new coronavirus cases reached a record of almost 9,600 on Friday, while the seven-day number of new infections per 100,000 people reached 554.
