Vienna scraps quarantine for Covid cases
The Austrian government wants to abolish the quarantine requirement for people infected with Covid. While countries like the UK, Spain and Denmark have already taken this step, Austria, like Germany, has so far stuck to a mandatory isolation policy. As of August, people testing positive for Covid will have to fulfill only mininum requirements such as wearing a mask at work. The press is divided.
Old and sick left high and dry
Der Standard raises a red flag:
“Over the past two years vulnerable groups have learned that in the debate about how much protection society should offer them, it's best to just keep their mouths shut and stay at home. But the latter is just not an option for employees, students and pupils. If quarantine rules, as the last wall of protection, are torn down and people with Covid carry on as normal in public life - potentially without even wearing a mask - then this sends the wrong message, in particular for the hospitals which are gradually filling up again.”
It's working in other countries
The Wiener Zeitung takes a more relaxed approach:
“Of course the quarantine question is not entirely irrelevant, but it will not have as dramatic an impact as the heated debate about it would suggest. Otherwise we would be seeing very different dynamics in those nations which have already scrapped it. This is not the case, however, neither in Spain nor in Denmark.”