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AUSTRALIA-VIRUS-MASK
Four out of five Austrians support mask mandate
VIENNA, Sept 30, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – The vast majority of Austrians are in favor of a mask requirement in parts of public life, according to a recent survey.
A total of 81 percent of respondents stated that mouth and nose protection should currently apply in shops and on public transport, according to the survey published on the website of the University of Vienna.
The survey of 1,500 people as part of the “Austrian Corona Panel Project” found 57 percent of the respondents say that the mask requirement in shops and on public transport should definitely apply, while 24 percent of respondents are at least more in favor of the mandate.
Taken together, this means 81 percent of Austrians support the mask requirement in September 2020, a similarly high level as at the end of April when 85 percent of the population supported the mask mandate, according to the statistics of the project.
On the other hand, 10 percent of the respondents tend to reject the measure, and 9 percent do not want it under any circumstances, according to the survey.
The lowest level of support for the mask requirement was reached in mid-June before the relaxation of lockdown, when a slim majority of respondents still supported the mask requirement. Since then, support for the measure has increased significantly again.
Austria tightened restrictive measures in mid-September in response to the accelerating spread of COVID-19 in the country, where wearing masks has been compulsory in shops, schools, and on public transport.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), face masks should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress COVID-19 transmission and save lives.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreaks in early 2020, wearing masks in public has been widely accepted in Asian countries like China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam to limit the spread of COVID-19.
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