The Latest: Schools, shops, salons are reopening in Austria

VIENNA — Schools, shops, hairdressing salons and museums are reopening in Austria after the country’s third lockdown, but concerns linger about infection rates and the spread of new coronavirus variants.

The relaxation of measures taking effect Monday is far from complete. People going to the hairdresser will need to show a negative test result that’s at most 48 hours old. In shops, customers have to wear full protective masks rather than just fabric face coverings.

Restaurants and hotels remain closed, and authorities say they won’t reopen this month.

The lockdown had been in place since Dec. 26. While the government has said that Austria needs to get as close as possible to an infection level of 50 new cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, the figure is still considerably higher — currently 108.

The country’s opposition leader says that reopening more than schools is a significant risk.

___

THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Virus variants are prompting new travel restrictions during season when industry had hopes of recovery

— Chicago's mayor touts agreement with teachers union over COVID-19 safety protocols that could avert school district strike

— Tom Brady and Tampa Bay win Super Bowl, capping NFL season that had no cancellations despite pandemic

— Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

___

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

PORTLAND, Maine — America’s lobster...