Face masks will be compulsory again in Austrian supermarkets & banks due to increase in infections

Austria is reintroducing a requirement that face masks be worn in supermarkets, banks and post offices, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday, citing an increase in coronavirus infections in recent weeks.

“There are areas of daily life where one cannot choose whether one goes or not – the supermarket, the bank, the post office,” Kurz said. “We have therefore decided that we will make face masks compulsory again in supermarkets, in banks, in post offices.”

Face masks are still required on public transport. The number of daily infections was regularly well under 50 in May and June. However, it has increased in the past three weeks and was over 100 almost every other day this month, according to Reuters.