(Bloomberg) --
Austria will keep its current lockdown in place until Feb. 7, shut restaurants, cafes and hotels for at least all of February and tighten mask and distancing requirements as more infectious coronavirus mutations accelerate the spread of the disease.
The setback for the Alpine country that had planned to lift most measures on Jan. 25 comes as the B117 mutation is suspected to have reached locations including Vienna. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the country will now make the more effective FFP2 masks mandatory on public transport and in supermarkets and pharmacies -- the only stores still open -- and increase the required distance in public places to 2 meters.
The government aims for a seven-day incidence of 50 new cases per 100,000, down from 131 yesterday, to be able to lift the lockdown and reopen schools and stores on Feb. 8, Kurz said. There will be a review in mid-February to see if gastronomy and hotels can resume in March, he said.
Austria entered its current lockdown after Christmas but it’s failed to bring down infections significantly after the holidays.