Austria's Kurz bans all religious or private celebrations

Record ID: 1463667

  • Title: Austria's Kurz bans all religious or private celebrations
  • Date: 12th March 2020
  • Summary: VIENNA, AUSTRIA (MARCH 12, 2020) (REUTERS) AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR SEBASTIAN KURZ AND AUSTRIAN INTERIOR MINISTER KARL NEHAMMER, ARRIVING FOR PRESSER (SOUNDBITE) (German) AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR SEBASTIAN KURZ, SAYING: "We already have the first death to mourn. And I want to send my condolences to the relatives." PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (German) AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR SEBASTIAN KURZ, SAYING: "We have presented some measures over the last couple of days in order to reduce social contacts in Austria and to decelerate our lives. And to make sure that way to slow down the infection rate of this disease." PRESS CONFERENCE WITH KURZ AND NEHAMMER CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR SEBASTIAN KURZ, SAYING: "There won’t be any religious celebrations or family gatherings like weddings or christenings over the next couple of weeks as well as masses or religious services, so we prevent any further infection." PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) AUSTRIAN INTERIOR MINISTER KARL NEHAMMER, SAYING: "So far we have controlled some 8,000 vehicles, denied entry to more than 150 persons. That means that the controls work, and we also notice an overall reduction in traffic." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) AUSTRIAN INTERIOR MINISTER KARL NEHAMMER, SAYING: "We have always aimed for the goods traffic to flow without any hindrance. You know that this is a very important route from the North to the South, not only for Italy but also for Austria. So the police as well as the health officials are very prudent in their task, they do spot checks on the lorry drivers, scans and at the same time they try to make sure that the traffic across the border runs smoothly, so there won’t be any supply shortfalls." JOURNALISTS KURZ AND NEHAMMER LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 26th March 2020 17:04
  • Keywords: Austria Kurz border closing border health checks coronavirus
  • Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
  • City: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
  • Country: Austria
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA001C4QW7K7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said that it is only a matter of time until other European states will take similar drastic steps like Italy in order to stem the spreading of coronavirus.
    Kurz told the TV station ORF on Thursday that schools, kindergartens or universities could be closed in Austria as well if the virus continues to spread. He later said in a news conference with Austria's Interior Minister Karl Nehammer that all religious celebrations like weddings and christening would be halted over the next weeks.
    While Italian Transport Minister Paola De Micheli demanded that Austria lift "unjustified" border controls by Thursday evening after spot health checks on truck drivers at the Brenner pass caused huge tailbacks at the frontier, Nehammer said that the spot checks proved to have an effect. "So far we have controlled some 8,000 vehicles, denied entry to more than 150 persons. That means that the controls work, and we also notice an overall reduction in traffic," he said and added that the police on the border makes sure that the goods traffic flows without any hindrance.
    (Production: Alex Schuller, Ute Swart)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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