Austria relaxes face mask rules

The obligation to cover the mouth and the nose when shopping was lifted in Austria on Monday as the country entered the phase of "fewer rules, more self-responsibility," reported Xinhua.

Business has returned to near normal. Face masks are a thing of the past in schools, supermarkets and other stores. Only in health facilities, pharmacies and other service providers where the one-meter minimum distance cannot be maintained do people have to wear masks - for example at the hairdresser's.

"We are on a good path in Austria ... so we can begin the next phase -- fewer rules, more self-responsibility," said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz when announcing the new rules at the end of May.

He warned that while the number of new infections had decreased, it could shoot up again quickly, urging citizens to use "common sense" to avoid posing a risk to others.

Restaurants and cafes will also be allowed to stay open until 1 a.m. starting Monday. The current limit of four adults per table will also be abolished.

Some experts have expressed doubts about the relaxation of the rules. Professor Hans-Peter Hutter, a specialist in hygiene and microbiology at the Medical University of Vienna, said that it would be better to wait until there is a vaccine against the coronavirus.

"We wish that the obligation to wear face masks remained in force, because the older people, who can of course be in close contact with the others, go to the supermarkets more often," he told the Austrian broadcaster ORF on Monday.