Austria was among the first in Europe to have cases of the coronavirus, but it was also the first, after the drop in the number of newly infected people, to present a detailed relaxation plan. First, 10 days ago, small shops as well as some crafts and large parks were opened in Vienna. In general, life in Austria is now much more normal compared to other countries in the West, Đorđe Kaluđerović, a native of Podgorica, who works as a director in a Viennese company, told Television Vijesti.
"Crazy people behave quite relaxed, maybe even too much in some situations, but some of the measures that Austria introduced, which were the first in Europe and among the most effective in Europe, contribute a lot to this, and that contributes a lot to optimism. Today you can see many big number of people, Austrians, on the streets and parks and keep a lot of physical distance," Kaluđerović told TV Vijesti.
In Austria, there was no curfew except for the ban on the movement of large groups of people because, says Kaluđerović, Austrians are sensitive to restrictions on human freedoms. There are no long queues and the wearing of masks has been mandatory in shops and public transport for a couple of weeks and at first they were distributed free of charge, but citizens do not wear them too much on the streets.
"In all the plans of the Austrian Government in the coming period, in addition to the metro, buses and trams, the obligation is to wear masks, and a special focus will be on cafes and restaurants that are planned to open by May 15, so that all employees and all people who enter , wore all protective equipment," says Kaluđerović.
The government of Prime Minister Sebastijan Kurac plans to completely return the country to a more or less normal state by mid-May.
"Next, which are on the list from May 1, are hair salons and museums, which should be open. On May 15, they plan to open even schools and cafes and restaurants, and by the fact that they work every two weeks, it shows that there is some caution because they are monitoring the situation as it will be, so that they can react in time," said Kaluđerović.
Great attention is paid to the recovery of the economy. With the first package from a month ago, the Austrian government provided 38 billion euros, and subsidy payments have already begun to cover full salaries, with the focus being on small and medium-sized enterprises.
"The Austrian government initially allocated three to four billion euros, and now it has already grown to six billion euros, which covers the salaries of employees in these companies. The Austrian government covers certain percentages of their salaries, and this can go up to 80, even up to 90 percent of salaries," says Kaluđerović.
He concludes that the positive atmosphere is mostly contributed by the timely plan to relax the measures as well as the fast and efficient help to the economy, and that all this can be a good lesson for other countries, including Montenegro.
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