Fog on the Rhine

6 April 2020 By Liam Proud, Ed Cropley Follow @liamwardproud

Austria hopes to reopen some shops next week, with Germany following suit from mid-April. Britain and America, with inferior testing and higher virus transmission rates, are well behind. And compared with China’s timetable, the West’s guinea pigs might still be jumping the gun.

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Austria said on April 6 it planned to start reopening shops from next week, the first European country to ease public movement and commerce restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Alpine republic, which shut down most economic activities three weeks ago, will allow small shops, DIY stores and garden centres to open on April 14. Larger shops and shopping malls will follow on May 1, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.

Austrian authorities have confirmed over 12,000 cases, although the daily increase in new infections has slowed to 2.8% from over 40% in mid-March.

Germany has drawn up a list of steps, including mandatory mask-wearing in public, limits on gatherings and the rapid tracing of infection chains, to help enable a phased return to normal life from April 19, Reuters reported on April 6.

Germany’s DAX stock index was up 5% at 1322 GMT on April 6. Austria’s ATX index was also up 5%.

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