Austria: an “exemplary” response to the crisis?
“Gingerly, and with plenty of caveats”, some of Europe’s smaller countries are easing their coronavirus lockdown measures, said Katrin Bennhold in The New York Times. Austria, Denmark and the Czech Republic all “moved quickly” to impose restrictions when the pandemic first hit Europe – and “it paid off”. Austria has seen a sharp decline in new cases since going into lockdown in mid-March. Its chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, has now outlined a “step-by-step” plan for re-starting the economy in fortnightly phases, starting with small shops, then businesses such as hair salons, and later – possibly – bars and restaurants. Denmark is reopening nurseries and schools to ease pressure on parents, and the Czech Republic has lifted travel restrictions. Spain, too, is beginning to ease its lockdown. Even so, the message from the countries’ leaders is clear: This is “not a return to normality. It is learning how to live with the pandemic – possibly for quite a long time.”
At last, there’s “light at the end of the tunnel”, said Rudolf Mitlöhner in Kurier (Vienna). But let’s not get carried away; the details are still “vague”. No date has been given for schools to reopen and there will be no concerts or theatre performances until July at the earliest. The government also tempered its strategy by unveiling new rules extending circumstances where people must wear face masks. Normality may still be some way off – but Austria’s response to the crisis has been “exemplary”, said Christoph B. Schiltz in Die Welt (Berlin). It has limited deaths to around 380, from 14,200 cases; communicated clearly with citizens; and embraced tracking apps to help slow the spread of infections. Now, Kurz is showing other leaders how to get their economies up and running again.
Let’s be honest, said Dr Peter Münch in Süddeutsche Zeitung (Munich) – “nothing has been won” yet. This crisis will only be resolved if countries adopt a coordinated response: otherwise the disease will reappear. Other European nations – Belgium and France, for instance – are also looking at exit strategies, said Michael Birnbaum in The Washington Post – but they’ve dampened hopes of a return to normal life. After all, some Asian nations have “struggled with waves of new infections” after easing restrictions: last week, Singapore became the latest state to “reverse course” and tighten restrictions; and in Japan, a spike of infections followed social distancing measures being eased last month. The caution in much of Europe is justified.