Austria plans to loosen its coronavirus restrictions on May 19, letting restaurants, hotels and theatres reopen their doors for the first time in more than five months, the government said, despite concerns about stubbornly high infections.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told a news conference.

A government statement published at the same time said a nighttime curfew would be scrapped, though meetings between 10pm and 5am would generally be limited to four adults.

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