The Austrian government on Tuesday said it was lifting the quarantine requirement for people infected with the coronavirus, even as the country experiences a wave of infections.
According to the new rules, which are to go into effect on August 1, anyone who does not feel ill can leave the house even after a positive test, but will still be subject to some restrictions.
These include a requirement to wear an FFP2 mask, unless the infected person is outdoors and at a distance of 2 metres from other people. In addition, they will be banned from visiting hospitals, nursing homes, facilities for the disabled and health resorts.
"Those who are sick, stay at home," Health Minister Johannes Rauch urged as he announced the change.
Rauch said the decision was made with a view to the psychological and social consequences of the pandemic as it drags on in its third year, describing this as a "new phase."
"We can't test the pandemic away, we can't vaccinate it away and we can't sequester it away," he said. Mandatory reporting remains in place to keep track of disease incidence, he added.
Rauch pointed to international models such as Denmark, Norway, Britain, Spain and Switzerland. In these places, he said, self-isolation rules had been abolished months ago.
Rauch had earlier told the Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper that people should "simply take note that we cannot live with this level of pandemic-related crisis for years." He said the coronavirus measures would be tightened if the situation became serious once again.
The seven-day incidence in Austria - which stands at around 900 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week - is higher than neighbouring Germany's figure. Considerably more patients currently have to be cared for in hospitals compared with the summer of last year.
