A protective face mask is handed over to a customer of Spar supermarkets during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian supermarkets on Wednesday began handing out basic face masks to largely compliant shoppers before they become compulsory next week, though there remained some confusion about the new measure and uncertainty about its usefulness in fighting the coronavirus.
Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Monday masks would soon be required in supermarkets and possibly later in public places in general, a cultural shift for a country that introduced a ban on face-coverings like Muslim veils 18 months ago in the wake of Europe's migration crisis.
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