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Austria's Ambassador in Washington Describes Life Amid Coronavirus

Natalie Liu

   WASHINGTON - Since the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe and the United
   States, Austrian Ambassador Martin Weiss has tweeted a series of
   [1]messages on what is happening in Austria, on the crisis-related
   duties in which he is involved and on his host city's response to the
   crisis. A career diplomat, Weiss took time to explain to VOA the issues
   that prompted some of his recent tweets.

   This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

   VOA: After receiving an alert from the Washington, D.C., government
   announcing a citywide lockdown effective March 25 at 10 p.m., you
   immediately tweeted the announcement and called it a "serious appeal
   during serious times." How does D.C.'s response compare to Vienna's?

   Weiss: Vienna and Austria, in general, took a quite proactive stance in
   this crisis, and they did that early on. On March 15, the federal
   (Austrian central) government already decided to pretty much lock the
   country down. Businesses are closed (except for supermarkets, banks and
   pharmacies). People work from home. You are only supposed to go outside
   together with the people you live with, etc. We all must stay at home
   for a while. D.C. did the right thing. This is not easy for anyone, but
   there's no alternative.

   (Since the interview, Weiss has tweeted that the Austrian government
   has tightened its rules and announced that beginning March 30, no one
   who is [2]not wearing a mask is allowed to enter the supermarket.)

References

   1. https://twitter.com/martinoweiss
   2. https://twitter.com/martinoweiss/status/1244797872048046080

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