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The federal government announced massive restrictions on public life in Austria on Tuesday. Organizers also cancel appointments on their own initiative. For Vienna, that alone could have a noticeable impact as far as cultural life is concerned.
10.03.2020 12.59
Online since today, 12.59 pm
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The Albertina is a prominent example. According to General Director Klaus Albrecht Schröder, the opening of the new “Albertina modern” in the converted artist’s house scheduled for Thursday is canceled. He has not yet been able to say whether the restrictions announced on Tuesday will affect museum operations. “We have to wait for the exact wording of the decree,” said Schröder. There are already massive declines in visitor numbers in the Albertina. Visitors from Spain, France, Italy, Asian countries or the USA have hardly been recorded in the past few days.
Defense lawyers and fairs, concerts and theater
“Unfortunately, the corona virus has forced the criminal defense lawyers, who are strong in themselves, to their knees,” said the President of the Association of Austrian Defense Lawyers, Manfred Ainedter, on Tuesday afternoon. In view of the recent developments in the coronavirus crisis, he canceled the criminal defense day planned for the coming weekend in Vienna. Messe Wien has canceled its two major spring trade fairs: the Wiener Immobilienmesse and “Wohnen & Interieur”. New dates should be announced in the next few days. The damage from the cancellations could not yet be estimated, it said.
The same applies to organizers of various concerts and cultural events. For the concert organizer Barracuda Music alone, the ban on events with more than 100 (hall) or 500 (open-air) visitors means the cancellation of 40 concerts by the end of March. In addition to concert organizers, theaters and opera houses are particularly affected. The crisis teams met in many cultural institutions on Tuesday to clarify how the upcoming premieres and concerts should be dealt with.
No worship in mosques
The Islamic Community of Faith in Austria (IGGÖ) suspended all church services in the mosques due to the government’s event restrictions due to the corona virus. This rule will apply from the upcoming Friday prayer, said a spokeswoman on APA request. Smaller prayer rooms are also closed, as people would otherwise move there. How other faith communities deal with the ban on events is still unclear. In the Roman Catholic Church, advice was still given on how to deal with church services in the future.
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