AUSTRIA

PAUL EICHMULLER BURTON BANK 2013-2014 VIENNA – AUGUST 2020

The Austrian government reacted fairly quickly, first closing down all universities, then schools and in the end, the whole country was shut down with only essential facilities like supermarkets kept open. This process happened in mid-March and it only took about a week between universities closing and the full-scale lockdown. At the time I would FaceTime close friends in Britain and they could not believe the severity of the measurements, as it was still business as usual in the UK. The fact that the Austrian government reacted so quickly is probably the reason why both the number of infections and the death toll has remained comparatively low.

As the Austrian government had to react quickly, the legal base for the lockdown was not perfect. The Covid Ordinance, specifying the details of the lockdown, was based with the Austrian Epidemic Act which allows the government to limit access to ‘specific places’. However, the Covid Ordinance forbade access to ‘the public domain’ in general – albeit with wide exceptions (work, essential shopping, but also individual sports or walking). This led to the Covid Ordinance and all fines issued based on it being quashed by Austrian courts. Although these court proceedings only took place after the lockdown was eased, it caused massive controversy and had a lasting negative effect on the trust in the government.

Personally, I was impressed with the rigour with which the government enacted the lockdown in spite of the resistance of the Austrian economy, but also by the early easing of the lockdown already in mid-April with non-essential shops reopening. Once again, friends in Britain could not believe we were allowed to go for a pint to the pub in mid-May.

In Austria, the lockdown rules always allowed us to go out for a walk and catch some fresh air, so the situation was not too bad considering how strict the measures were in other countries. Nevertheless, it was a strange feeling to work and study only from home – to such an extent that grocery shopping became the ‘highlight of the week’, as it was a change of environment. Naturally, it is hard not to see family and friends for such a long time, but also losing some hobbies that are very dear to me has been difficult. Normally, I would spend a lot of time singing in a semi-professional choir. Yet, due to the pandemic, singing was made virtually impossible. The reason why this had such an enormous impact, is because for choirs, Covid it is the gift that keeps on giving. Most other aspects of life have either reverted to (almost) normal or are in the process of doing so, but for choirs there is still no prospect for a return to choir practice and concerts due to the increased infection risk, even long after the lockdown has ended.

I suppose that that the earliest when we can return to some form of a ‘normal normal’ as opposed to the much proclaimed ‘new normal’ will be way into 2022. Next year will still be shaped by the virus. I am very confident though that – with some exceptions such as more distance working and studying –things will revert back to how they used to be, a trend we already experienced when the lockdown was relaxed.

The experience of lockdown mande me realised how important social and particularly cultural events were to me and to society as a whole. Thus, I have not only decided to return to the state before, but rather to go to concerts, theatres, lectures and other events more often and support these severely damaged industries as soon as it is safe to return. Additionally, I have realised that one doesn’t have to travel that far to see interesting and inspiring places, so I plan to explore Austria and the regions surrounding it in the future – Britain of course being the exception.

One of the fondest memories I have of MHS – although I am fairly certain that I did not enjoy it as much at the time –are the hundreds of hours in morning registration with my tutor group. All of us used to come in half asleep to an (almost) always joyful Mr Slade with the Heart Radio breakfast programme playing in the background. As we slowly woke up to the same songs every day, we then fooled around a bit, but registration really helped us to get ready for the day.