Austria entered a third blockade on Saturday, with all stores and non-essential schools closed for three weeks and movement restricted, after the country eased restrictions in mid-December to allow for preparations before the Christmas holiday.
Until January 24, people in Austria can only leave their homes to work, shop or exercise outdoors, and personal contacts are limited to a maximum of two families.
“This is our chance to avoid a third wave, or at least do everything we can so that it doesn’t hit us as hard, as it would happen without this effort,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told public broadcaster ORF in an interview on Saturday .
The ice skating rinks and ski lifts in the Alpine country will remain open despite the blockade, but operating at half capacity and with distance requirements. However, the ski area closest to Vienna saw a capacity on Friday, which prompted the authorities to prevent some sled tracks and to put more barriers in the areas around the cable cars to better enforce the distance rules.
Some ski areas are requiring people to register when they buy a lift ticket, as a way to control the number of people using the lifts and avoid overcrowding.
On Sunday, Israel is also expected to enter its third week block after a sharp increase in positive coronavirus test results last week. Israelis will be banned from traveling more than 1,000 meters beyond their homes, except those participating in protests, receiving vaccinations or fulfilling any other task on an exemption list, the government said in a statement on Friday.
Museums, shopping malls, national parks, zoos, lounges and many other places will be closed, but some schools will remain open, the government said. The blockade is scheduled to take effect about a week after Israel started vaccinating people against Covid-19. As of Saturday, more than 200,000 had received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.