VIENNA: Austria reopened cafes and beer gardens for the first time in more than six months on Wednesday.
After repeated lockdowns and stubbornly high infections, new daily cases have fallen below 1,000 in recent weeks for the first time since October as accelerating vaccinations and warmer weather have kicked in.
The reopenings gave comfort to the nation that prides itself on Viennese cafes and wood-paneled guesthouses churning out beer and schnitzel.
“It’s a day of joy after a months-long dry spell,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz informed reporters as he and several ministers arrived at a beer garden in Vienna while waiters carried trays of foam-topped pints shoulder-high.
Kurz has come under pressure for the gradual pace of vaccinations and even criticized the European Union’s system of collective purchases for distributing doses unevenly. Austria didn’t buy all the vaccines it could have under that system but it has remained around or above the EU average.
“I cannot describe my joy. My endorphins are off the charts!” mentioned a waiter known as Mr. Otto at Cafe Korb as he prepared for a wave of arrivals who had reserved despite unseasonably cold weather.
While foreign tourists have yet to return to the Austrian capital, cafes relied on their regular visitors for the time being. Hotels are also allowed to take in non-business travelers as of Wednesday.
“For us immediately is a special day after going without for so long,” pensioner Uschi Hummer mentioned as she had breakfast in Cafe Mozart. “We had to have a proper coffee out of china and not out of a mug, to treat ourselves.”
