Austria has set out plans to become the first country in Europe to ease its lockdown against the coronavirus pandemic, with shops due to reopen as early as next week.
Flanked by senior government ministers, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Monday presented a timetable to restart the Austrian economy, detailing a series of phased steps to normalise life while minimising the risk of a surge in new infections.
With many European countries still battling to hold down cases of Covid-19, and hospital systems on the edge of capacity, Austria’s plan will be intensely scrutinised: seen either as a bold decision to balance public and economic health, or as a gamble that prioritises the latter.